


It Feels Better When I'm Dancing (Remake)

by BGSunni, Optima_chama



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: ...Physically, A lot - Freeform, ALL ABOARD THE ANGST TRAIN, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Aichmophobia, Best Friend is Overprotective, CINNAMON ROLLS THAT ARE TOO PURE FOR THIS WORLD, Chara(s) Have Their Own Body, Chara-Type Protection Squad, Dance! Swapfell Has Always Been Here, Dancing, Dark Comedy, Depression, Determination, Discrimination, Edge and Black Aren't Complete Assholes, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Healing, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Friendship, Frisk Has Their Own Body (Fellswap), Frisk Has Their Own Body (Underswap), Gender-Fluid Charas and Frisks, Goat Mom Is Best Mom, Hurt/Comfort, I Like Them Okay?, I Like Writing in Second Person, I have to think about it, I'M GONNA DRAW SO MUCH SHIT FOR THIS, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Look at all these tags, Magic Revealed, Mental Anguish, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mild comedy, Multi, Nihilism, Old Fanfic Will Tie Into This, Olivia Gets Hurt, Olivia Really Needs a Hug, Olivia is Low-Key Badass, Persona References, Physical Abuse, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Protective Siblings, Psychological Trauma, Reader Is Not Chara, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader is named, Reverse Harem, Scars, So Nyeh, Someone stop me, Songfic, They're Just Tsunderes, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Xenophobic Asshats, attempted suicide, maybe smut later...?, no one can stop me, they're everywhere, what are you talking about?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2018-11-08 09:16:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 39,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11078571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BGSunni/pseuds/BGSunni, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Optima_chama/pseuds/Optima_chama
Summary: There were few things that gave your life meaning... And occasionally even those things weren't enough. Hell, could you even call it meaning? It was more like the reasons you hadn't let go yet. But you continued to be a meat shield for your younger brothers and protect them from the constant abuse that 'Mommy and Daddy Dearest' dealt.Wanna die...But they deserve to live.Just end it already.Don't be selfish. They matter more.Suffering was always a companion of yours. It had been since you were young. You often wondered if you were even human anymore. Your empty being felt validation--Life--through Art. Through Music. Through Dance. It was the only thing left you felt proud of.But when you dumbly risk your life to save a very familiar child, a whole host of Monsters waltz right on into it and flip it around harder than a professional Hip-Hop Dancer... And eight skeletons in particular seem to want to lead you first-hand into a new chapter of your life.But will the final curtain drop before they can...?ACT ONE- Surviving? I'm Hardly Existing:Chp: 1-???





	1. Jack of All Trades and a Jack of Spades?

Jaden Niles Ebott and Zirconia Boudreaux-Ebott, also known as 'The Angels of Ebott City', were the two most reputable and wealthy people in the entire region. Considering the fact that the city and even the large mountain range nearby was named after the prestigious Ebott family that Jaden was born and Zirconia was married into, it would come to no surprise; In fact, you could say it was expected of them.

And, well, they catered to that expectation with no complaint. Charity Balls, business deals that benefited the environment, community programs to help the homeless, and fundraisers for school functions. They did it all.

It was no surprise that they were idolized as the heads of what was perceived as a perfect family as well.

They had spawned a set of beautiful and extremely well-behaved children; four, to be precise. Three boys and one girl.

The eldest was a reputable defense attorney known by the name of Leon. Twenty-nine years of age and quite successful, he was often talked about the most by his parents.

The second youngest was a young adult known by the name of Lucas, eighteen to be exact, and still unsure of his future. However, he was often praised by teachers and peers he had even the smallest contact with.

The youngest was a free-spirited child known by the name Thomas, at a fresh age of thirteen. Bright and sharp-tongued, the boy was a common sight to see around fundraisers, always cheerfully helping out.

The second eldest, however? She was never really seen in the public eye. When asked about her, her parents would smile and go on and on about how shy she was and how she was off studying somewhere private. Many rumors and questions floated around the city because of that very reason: What did she look like? What did she act like? Did she follow in her parents' footsteps? Was she even real?

But you knew for a fact she existed; there was no doubt in your mind.

How did you know this?

She was _you._

Yup. Zirconia and Jaden were your mother and father. Unfortunately.

Olivia Misteria Ebott was your name and... Well, remaining invisible was your game. You were twenty-one years of age and studying the arts at the local university on your own dime. Nobody but Administration and a few teachers you considered trustworthy knew what your last name really was. Everybody else just knew you as the extremely quiet girl that was the Defacto Student Head of most Art programs, who kept most of her body covered and avoided speaking unless absolutely necessary. If you hadn't made sure that was the case, you were sure you would've been swarmed by 'friends' that would've tried to cash in on favors and gifts that would've cost a pretty penny.

So yeah. Fuck that. Who needed people when you had music? Art? Your imagination?

_Dancing._

Man alive, you wanted to know whoever came up with the idea of complicated and sumptuous foot patterns along with moving hand gestures and captivating body movements and worship the fucking ground they walked on because you never felt more alive than when you were dancing. Telling a story with calculated steps, weaving figurative spells with your arms, blood _rushing,_ Soul ** _singing-_**

Phew... You were getting such pleasant shivers just thinking about it.

Anyway, yeah. Dancing was your life. It  _gave_ you life, reminded you that you could still  _feel._ If you could feel, that meant that you were still alive, and you took comfort in that fact. So the action took up most of your time, for it was something you relished with every fiber of your being.

It showed.

And, well, despite your best efforts to remain inconspicuous, you were also known as the best dancer in the University. You had a fair amount of art medals and were often picked first for solos at performance castings, both music, and theater. But hey, they were some of the only things you took pride in, so you weren't complaining... Externally.

Social life? Love life? Healthy eating habits? Ha, the hell was that shit? Not exactly things your parents encouraged you to have, that was for sure.

But, erm... More on that particular subject later. There were much more interesting things to think about at this time.

...Like this fucking chapter to a novel you were working on.

You rested your head down on your desk in abject despair. Well, you say  _rest,_ but you were sure the majority of people would call it  _pounding._ The dull hollow thuds of your head on the wooden surface was the only sound echoing in your very dark and secluded room. Your laptop screen is the only light shining in the abyss that was your natural habitat, which to be honest was not at all helping the oncoming migraine you could feel forming at your temples. But to be fair, neither was trying to split your head open on your desk.

You just had a...  _different way_ to get rid of Writer's Block.  _The Blockage,_ as you liked to call it, was a common yet formidable foe when it came to performing the very thing that gave you currency; you know, the thing you need in order to buy food and stay alive? Yeah, that. While most things you couldn't care less about, food was something you didn't fuck around with. So when it came to writing (aka your _flippin' job_ ) and the ruts you could land in involving it, you _had_ to have a few fail-safes waiting on the front lines to get rid of it. Hitting your head would sometimes work-- For whatever reason, you weren't sure. But if it _didn't_ work, you would grapple with it for goodness know's how long until it went away or realizing the metaphorical stone wall wasn't going to come down unless you had your proverbial set of explosives ready and armed.

Like now for example.

 _'Tactical nuke on standby.'_ You couldn't help but think to yourself as you tapped a pen in your hand (despite totally typing up your draft, not writing it) against the desk impatiently, taking solace in the rhythm it produced in the silence. Silence,  _oh blissful silence_ _,_ how you adored it. You were its biggest fan really, you swear you were, but right now it was just getting on your nerves. That didn't happen often. But you were dedicated and determined, damn it; you had come too far in your writing career to just let _The Blockage_ and its sidekick _Sleep Deprivation_ fuck everything up. The deadline for the manuscript was the end of next week, and by Jove, you were going to get it done!

Drastic times called for drastic measures. Sacrifices had to be made.

 _'Deploy Tactical Nuke.'_ Copy that Commander. 

It was time...

...Time to leave the house.

You groaned loudly to yourself as you willingly fell out of your chair and to the floor, rolled out of the burrito blanket you had swaddled yourself into and just kept rolling in the general direction of your closet. You had obstacles like a few stray pencils littering your floor and piles of dirty clothes that at this point were attempting to emulate the geography of the planet, but you would not be deterred and made it to the double doors. Lazily pushing aside a door you came face to face with the sweet sight of... Nothing.

'This is what happens when you don't do laundry Olivia.' You could hear the sweet voice of Reason 'tsk' softly in your head as you gazed at the sight of a few lonely hangers just dangling there, but you merely gave the double mental bird in response as you deigned it necessary to actually get on your hands and knees to crawl to your nearby dresser instead, in search of clean clothes. You surely couldn't do what you needed to in just a tank top and underwear. Unfortunately.

Pulling open the lowest drawer, you could see it was becoming painfully empty as well, but one of your trusty pairs of sweatpants rested there. You could practically hear a holy choir singing out your joy in the background as you ripped it out and squirmed on the floor as you slipped it on over your legs. You could feel the tiny eyes of your pets watching you curiously from somewhere, but you paid your babies no mind at this very moment. You were facing a crisis.

_To bra, or not to bra?_

...Hey, don't laugh. Bras were evil. Instruments of Satan himself. Tortuous things that society used to restrict lumps of fat that grew naturally on women's chests and made it hard to breathe. You hated things that were so... Inhibiting, especially since your body type was more 'filled out'. Not fat, just... Curvy. But then, most men seemed to think that if women didn't wear them, they couldn't exercise self-control properly and it was the woman's fault.

So... Either put on one of few things that made you hate your X chromosomes or go out without it and deal with potential stares that would make you want to immediately run home and take an hour long shower.

Hm...

Or you could just... Not leave the house at all and deal with  _The Blockage_ in a new way...? That was a very enticing thought...

You bitch-slapped that voice down with a vengeance.  _Not helping dammit! That was a one-way ticket to procrastination! If you have nothing useful to contribute, then shut up!_

Hmph... Now, where were you?

Oh. Right. Trying to decide on your brand of torture this day.

Ugh...

'Maybe if I get one of my baggier sweaters, I could go outside, not wear a bra, _and_ possibly not get leered at...?' Oh yeah. Now  _that_ was a plan you could get behind. You popped up out your prone position on the floor and looked to your bedposts; the place where you usually put your sweaters and jackets. It was about mid-August now and it was pretty balmy (the last time you went outside, anyway) so at least you wouldn't be sweating like a pig as you ventured into town. You picked a totally drab gray one, something that wasn't extraordinary in any way so you couldn't be easily identifiable, and slipped it on.

Turning to grab some shoes, you caught sight of your reflection in the mirror above your dresser.

The flipped image was one you usually regarded with indifference and bitterness. Your silver-gray hair reached to your lower back, and while you often preferred to keep it in a ponytail, at the moment it was completely down. The bangs were mostly one-sided and covered only your right eye, to the point where the right side of your face was mostly hidden. Caramel-chocolate colored skin, a perky nose, and one silvery-blue eye that showed your more lack-a-dasical nature. Despite being able to pull off very strenuous things, you were much more of a lethargic type; Not liking to move unless you really wanted to or absolutely had to. The dark circle under your eye didn't help the tired look either.

Your expression was blank. Cold. You haven't seen yourself smile in... God knows how long.

It was best to keep it that way. 

You slipped on some sandals, not caring enough to find some relatively clean socks and put on tennis shoes. You slipped your laptop and a couple of sketchbooks into a worn bag of yours and then slung it over your shoulder. With what you affectionately dubbed your sweatpants and baggy sweater as 'armor' on, you could now easily pass for a male if your face was taken out of the equation. But since it couldn't be...

You stuffed your hair into the hood of your sweater before pulling it over your face.

Much better.

Now you could face the public-- Oh no, wait. Hang on.

You were forgetting something important.

Turning back quickly to your desk, you spied the deck of cards you carried with you everywhere and swiped it up before beginning to shuffle them expertly.

You had a love for all things Arcane and Magic related, so when you found out there was such a thing for Divination with Playing Cards as a child, you immediately jumped on the chance to learn. As the years passed, your wish to play fortune-teller for others dimmed considerably... But you had never broken the habit of pulling a card every day to try and see the general direction the day was probably heading. Each card had a specific meaning, and you learned to listen to it. It wasn't often you were lead astray by it, so what could it hurt?

You pulled a card. You frowned.

Jack of Spades.

_Change._

.....

Hm. Maybe today was one of the days the cards were wrong.

At least, you hoped so.

You scooped up your keys and wallet with a soft huff and bagged your deck of cards with a rubber band around them before heading out of the house.

'I'm not sure I could survive any changes to my life.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Optima: Yeah, I'm just letting you beauties know before hand... This story will not be a very happy one at first. ^^; Gotta get all this built up angst out somehow. But I am extremely excited for this! I've got a much better plot in mind than I did for the original. Oh, and also...
> 
> Ladies and Gents, welcome my new Beta, Sunni!
> 
> !!!!
> 
> Hello! I'm Sunni, and I'm Optima-Chama's Beta!! I hope I can make them and you guys proud, with anything that I do! I'm really happy that this story is being given new life, and I'm sure it'll exceed its predecessor!
> 
> Have a great day guys, and enjoy!


	2. A Brush With the Second Joker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet some eerily familiar people and promptly lose about ten years of your lifespan from a card scare afterward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Opti: Here is your post!!! I apologize for how freaking long it took!! Everyone thank my very good friend UltimateGamer101 for helping me out with the writer's block I had to battle in order to get this chapter out.
> 
> Take all the cookies I have, my dearest friend!
> 
> Sunni: Have fun guys! < 3 enjoy < 3

You pretty much lived alone in a two story home. Might be hard to believe, considering actual houses in cities were few and far between (not to mention expensive), but that was the thing: You didn't live  _in_ the city. In fact, you lived in a woodsy area between civilization and the mountain range. There was a nice little lake nearby and everything, completely untouched by human hands.

If people actually knew who you were and saw the house you lived in, they would be overly shocked; The daughter of two of the richest people in the region living in this modest little home? Inconceivable!

You favored the set up though. It was _your_ house and yours alone. You and your parents, or who you preferred to call _Hans_ and _Ravenna_ , didn't get along too well with each other. Understatement of your life. When you turned the oh-so-liberating age of eighteen (note the sarcasm) Mommy and Daddy Dearest had kicked you out of the big mansion that you had known your whole life and given you the fixer-upper that was miles from the city. No birthday presents for years and then they had plopped the deed for a mess into your hand and thrown you out on your ass with your meager belongings. With your little brothers watching on in panicked confusion. Said it was to teach you 'humility' and stuff.

Heh. Hypocrites. You sure showed them though; With the help of a friend you had known for quite a while by that time, all the leaky messes and critters that had made their home there went bye-bye. You had to pay out of pocket to get all the utilities and electronics running up to code again, but it was damn well worth it to see the shock, irritation, and (gasp) well-hidden jealousy on your parents' faces when they came by. Not sure why they'd be jealous, but what the fuck ever; You'd piss them off any way you could.

Your cute little home was actually quite big for just one person, but you liked all of the space to yourself. It had few rooms made for miscellaneous use, a full kitchen, three bedrooms (one large, two small), and two bathrooms. Your favorite part was the balcony that was attached to your room's window; Even with your hermit lifestyle, you enjoyed the sight of nature right outside your door and when night fell, you could see the stars unhindered by all the light from the metropolis. Guess your parents thought the single con of the house's dilapidated state when they first bought the property for it would ruin all the eventual pros.

Jokes on them. You had even set up a rope hanging from your balcony that you swung from and watched the view whenever you were feeling particularly ballsy.

But, as much as you enjoyed the solace of your home, the things you needed in life didn't just pop up into existence like an answered prayer. Like food. Or coffee. Medication. Various art supplies. Supplies for your babies. And you didn't want to invite potential horror movie scenarios by shopping for your needs online and getting it shipped to your house, no matter how 'safe' it was.

So trips to the city were... necessary.

Gah.

You didn't react well to seeing afternoon sunlight after being in the dark for..... Shit, how long had it been again? Fifty-six hours? Seventy-two? Hell, maybe more. Anyway, you let out a displeased hiss, yanking your hood further down to try to shield your eye as you went jogging down the hardly used trail that lead from your house towards civilization. At least you could appreciate the fresh air and cool breeze on your way down.

Pulling out your phone and earbuds, you popped the little things into your ears and began scrolling through your playlist for something to listen to. Your sadly stocked kitchen came to mind as you continued forward, and you decided that you should probably go shopping for food while you were out. Just bare essentials though. Since you didn't exactly have a vehicle to properly store a large number of groceries, that meant you were walking a fair distance and all; you couldn't exactly carry several plastic bags home without getting tired or be placed in serious danger of getting jumped. You were overly frugal with your money when it came to yourself unless it meant art supplies. Not only was it fun, but you were paid good money for online commissions so you needed quite a lot of stuff. And you'd be surprised at what foods you could make with just the essentials if you looked up the recipes.

Plus, if a certain parent made a 'surprise' visit, you didn't want to hear her mouth about it.

...And you hated having to go shopping anyway, so the less you had to get overall, the better.

Having made this trip more than several times at this point, your trek was short and sweet as you placed _Waves_ by Mr. Probz on repeat. But as you got closer and closer to the noise belonging to the urban area in the distance, you could feel your mood take a slightly more sullen turn. It only got worse as the traffic, both vehicle and pedestrian, began to pick up around you, and you had to be a bit more careful to keep your personal space as clear as possible. 

Why? 

Humans.

_Humanity._

**_...Disgusting._ **

To be truly honest, you could bring up so many amusing memes and Tumblr posts from the internet about your Faith in Humanity-- Level: 'Nonexistent', by the way. There was a lot of memes that could explain your life accurately, sadly enough.

But yeah.

You hated humanity.

Not to say there wasn't any good in the race you had unfortunately been born into; You just... Hadn't had the pleasure of meeting many of them, so you often forgot that good people existed. To you, the only ones that mattered were your younger brothers Lucas and Thomas, and your best (read: only) friend who was a fabulously insane woman by the name of Hellene. Oh, and children. You adored children.

But other than that? You had no love for your species.

You were all just... So ugly, on the inside. Where it counted. Where it mattered. There weren't many other animals on this rotten earth that killed off its' own for trivial matters or sport, after all, if any.

Of course, you didn't just take your quiet inherent revulsion out on everyone around you. Why stoop to the level of others by adding more cruelty to the world? There was already enough in it.

However, that didn't mean you were going to put yourself in danger by throwing flowers everywhere and cheerfully belting out up-lifting life mottos. Nu-uh, that shit was dangerous in this crazy ass world. People who stayed naive and innocent were bound to get destroyed by the cutthroat ways of mankind if they didn't have someone to watch out for them. You had siblings to worry about, and couldn't afford such risks. That's why your acts of kindness (if you could call them that) were subtle, quiet, under the radar, or insignificant actions that people wouldn't even look twice at.

Perhaps you were biased, bitter, or just plain numb. Perhaps your views were overly harsh... Or perhaps your views had a touch of hubris in them.

Mm. Oh well. It wasn't like you had anything to look forward to in life anyway. Your... Parents... made quite sure of that.

You didn't care though. You didn't want to care; Caring often came with Hope, and Hope was the most dangerous thing on this damned earth. Hoping for something meant the outcome was uncertain, and uncertainty could kill you.

You couldn't afford to Hope. So, you couldn't afford to care. And unfortunately...

You couldn't afford to die. Not yet.

No matter how much you wanted to.

But Despair could kill too. It was just as dangerous, if not more than, Hope.

So what did you choose to do instead?

Be Apathetic.

Apathy... was your friend. It wasn't a very good friend, but it was a friend nonetheless. It kept you safe from being poisoned socially at least; Kept you relatively invisible in public settings. The only thing that sucked about it was that people often mistook apathy for conceit. Ha! As if your confidence level was ever higher than 'I'm trash; possibly cute trash at the moment, but I highly doubt it'. Anonymity was a slightly better friend, but one that was extremely hard to keep; With your parents being the 'Angels of Ebott', news reporters and gossip writers obviously took particular interest in their children, and you were no exception. Fortunately for you, you knew exactly how to blend in with the masses, were quick-footed, swift-minded, and as a result, any photos that paparazzi and photographers tried to snap of you were often blurred, out of focus, or of completely different people. You were so skilled in the art of stealth, one of your many nicknames given from the public was the Phantom of Ebott, for more than one reason actually.

But... There was another race that you weren't as... _Adverse_ to believing in. In fact, during your quiet emo-like loathing of the world, you accidentally shoulder-checked a furry member of one of them.

_Shit._

"S-Sorry about that..." You murmured lowly, cringing a bit at the fact at you made physical contact with a person you didn't know  _(oh god, touching, you_  despised _being touched)_  but the bipedal creature that seemed to be of the canine variety simply waved you off with a smile.

"No harm done little lady! Ice Wolf shoulda watched where Ice Wolf was goin' a bit more." Your lips twitched a bit in the shadow of your hood, as if wanting to form a smile, but instead you gave the monster a quick thumbs up before shuffling onward.

Yep, that's right.

Monsters.

Such lovely creatures they were.

About three years or so ago when you were evicted from the main mansion, at the very mountain that bore your surname, there was something of a... disturbance. You had felt it in the air, in the earth, and then not a day later, thousands of creatures that the world had only imagined the existence of emerging from the very bowels of the range. There was sooo many, with four kings and four queens (not exactly sure how that worked) of the large population being led forward by four little children. Who, the public was told, were the ones to free the civilization.

You felt so much second-hand pride for those kids.

Monsters came in all shapes and sizes, and were so diverse and sweet; Some were goofy, some were flirty, others were sweet as pie, and a few were a bit rough around the edges but they were mostly just edgy sweethearts. And here was the kicker-- They could use legit _magic_. Even better: Magic was naturally accessed through _dancing._   ** _Dancing!_** You were _so_ excited upon their arrival, for once having hope that the world might change for the better; their benevolent and docile nature leading them forward with the simple want of being assimilated into society peacefully was the only thing they craved.

Well... The world sure changed. But definitely not for the better.

A lot of people would say not for the worse either, but you called so much bullshit on that. People would always hate others for being different, that was true... But hate riots? Destruction of monster property? Unprovoked killings and attacks? Discrimination in the workplace, schools, and at eateries? Domestic terrorism? Fuck, it made you _sick_ to even think about all the dust that hit the ground the year they were petitioning for citizenship, due to human hands. They had rights as full citizens now, and were _supposed_ to be protected by the full extent of the law, but... There were traces of racism and corruption in the government too; Big surprise. Sometimes, humans who associated themselves with monsters were targeted by hate groups as well; even human children that decided to become friends with monster children weren't spared all the time! Sure, some monsters fought back and some even attacked unprovoked... But you couldn't blame them after all the shit humans put them through. It was because of humans that they had been trapped underground for millennia to begin with!

Goodness, you needed to calm down... You were like a steaming kettle getting ready to whistle. Not to mention this was way too much exposition in one chapter for any readers...

'Well, if there was anything in this world that could calm me down...' You thought to yourself, turning onto a particular street. 'It's sugar.' Coming to a stop in front of a particular shop outlet, you looked up and found a small amount of comfort in the familiar violet sign above your head.

 _Flammé Violette._ Your favorite café. A relatively large space that had windows overlooking the busy streets outside.

Walking inside, you breathed in the scent of baked bread, something sweet, and the distinct smell of coffee beans wafting in the air. Knowing people would find someone who kept their face hooded as suspicious, you lamentably tossed your hood back with a sigh. Thankfully for you, this was a monster run establishment; four monsters, in fact, meaning that because of the avid discrimination in society, there was a minimal number of humans present.

But since you were a human that frequented this place quite often for over a year now, it came to no surprise that any other regulars that swung by knew your face rather well.

"Olivia!"

"Hi, Olivia."

"Quiet Olive, nice to see ya."

"Greetings Olivia."

"Hello again, Olivia!"

You nodded in greeting and gave a small wave to all who decided it necessary to greet you every time you visited, spying an open booth to sit down at and depositing your bag onto the table. The monsters that visited the café were used to your closed off manner of interaction (if you could even call it that), and merely smiled at you as you got comfortable. You felt a sort of uneasiness at the idea of people waiting eagerly for your return, so you attempted to brush it off as best as you could. 

You hoped you didn't seem rude by doing so...

Upon moving to take out your laptop and sketchbook, your eye spied a menu with fancy embroidery being lowered from the ceiling by a string of spider silk. With a quick glance upwards, you spoke a soft thank you to the tiny spider responsible and took the menu as they waved before scuttling off to its next task.

Oh yeah... Had you forgotten to mention that two of the four owners of the place were spider monsters? The other two were fire elementals, which explained the name and a large number of candles everywhere, but it put the arachnid-inspired decor into perspective. And, what seemed to be a staple of monster-run eateries, there was sort of magical sensory system ingrained into the chairs and the tables that could connect to aforementioned candles and with the flick of a switch, the flame showed the color of the customer's primary traits and condition.

_Speaking of candles..._

"Why hello dearest Olive, how nice it is to see your lovely face again." Turning your head, you came face to face with the cheerful orange fire elemental himself, Spiro. He held no genuine facial features (since he was... you know, made of fire), was a good-natured flirt, and had a goofy sense of style; A vivid blue suit with a complimentary Vermillion button-up undershirt and... dark pink waist wrap and bowtie. And a pair of glasses to finish the look that reminded you of Harry Potter's signature spectacles, but had a swirl-like detail over the lenses. Definitely not the most... Normal of clothing styles.

...Not that you had any room to talk. Your sense of style was nonexistent. Or better known as 'Don't really give a fuck'.

"Mr. Spiro." You replied quietly in acknowledgment, already prepared for the disgruntled flickering of his facial flames (never thought you'd ever say something like  _that_ ) at your reply.

"Now, Olivia dear..." He began in a scolding tone, making you bite your lip a little at the crackling undertone of his fire. His voice struck you as boyish, yet smoky; it had the pleasant immature nature of a teenage boy, yet had a mysterious sex appeal to it. "How many times must I ask you to just call me Spiro?"

"...Once more, Mr. Spiro. As always." You could feel more than actually see his dispirited pout at your insistence on formality and you glanced away, pretending to busy yourself by going to dig through your bag for a pencil. "How are you today?"

"I've been rather well, my dear." You had grown uncomfortably used to the endearing nicknames he pinned you with; it wasn't used in any demeaning sort of way and a lot of monsters seemed to have the same habit. "Business is booming, as usual. Coffee and sweets are quite a hit amongst you humans, no?"

"Don't I know it." You muttered softly, pulling out your handy-dandy mechanical pencil and opening up your laptop. "I'm a sucker for both. Your meat empanadas though? Damn amazing."

"You flatter me dear~. At least I know you'll always enjoy what I make for this darling little establishment." You raised your brow in polite amusement as he bowed to you, pulling out your medication bottles as well and looking at the menu in hand.

"Speaking of food, by the way..."

"Oh yes, of course." Seeming to remember himself, he pulled out a little flip book from his jacket pocket with a pen. "Will you be having your usual today?"

"Mmm... Nah." You shook your head, spotting something new on the menu. "...The Echo Flower Tart sounds yummy. I don't suppose you have some in stock right now?" Seeing him nod an affirmative, you couldn't help but lick your lips. "One of those, a Boo-berry Muffin, and a Hot Chocolate please."

"Is that all?" Spiro chuckled as he jotted all of the items down.

"Is it ever?" You joked flatly as you went to your Google Docs and pulled up your manuscript. "A few of your chicken empanadas for the road."

"Understood." He nodded once more, jotting down that order as well and his head made a slight movement in the direction of the unlit candle to your left.

Boy howdy, here we go.

"It's not going to be today, Mr. Spiro." You interjected, actually sitting in the booth so you were facing the doorway. You hated having your back to entrances.

"Is there no way I could convince you otherwise, Olivia...? I'm sure your SOUL trait would be lovely to see." You shook your head in dissent and attempted to start working on your story once more.

The Soul was the center of one's being; Yes, they were actual physical things that existed within everybody, rather than the theological idea that many religions seemed to adhere to about people. They were heavily revered within monster culture, seeing that without them, a person couldn't truly exist. It was pretty much the control center for feelings and personality. Any permanent damage it obtained was a very serious thing.

_'That's why I can't show anyone anything to do with mine... I've never seen it, but I'm certain it's defective...'_

"I wouldn't be comfortable with knowing." You merely said, feeling your leg bounce as your anxiety began to rise. "Anyway... How is Mr. Feu? Where's Miss Muffet and Miss Widow? Are they off today?"

"Ah... Feu is off today, taking care of personal matters... The ladies, however, are simply in the back, making the fare." He answered, thankfully dropping the subject. "Speaking of, I shall put in your order now." The monster placed a gentle hand upon your shoulder and it took all of your will not to cringe away from the touch. "I shall be back with it shortly."

"Thank you." You mumbled, ducking your head as he walked away behind the pastry display and to the door that led to the kitchen in the back. Gnawing on your lip, you focused on the screen in front of you again, attempting to get back into the groove of writing your story.

_Ah... The Blockage. Truly the most formidable of opponents. Backed by its' Second in Command, Sleep Deprivation, and the feared Third known as The Migraine._

You order was large and the ladies' known as Miss Muffet and Miss Widow were sticklers about freshness and perfection; when it came to the foods of first timers and regulars especially. You knew it would take a bit of time for your order to come to your table so you had to pass the time as best as you could.

_Standing tall in front of the sad being known as Olivia, they loom menacingly overhead. Even the Notable Optima-Chama trembles at their mere approach._

_But as afraid as she was, Olivia would not be deterred. She_ couldn't.  _She had money, art supplies, and_ food  _riding on this victory. She would say she brandished a pen, for the pen is mightier than the sword, but it was a keyboard she had at her current disposal. Even so, it was a sufficient enough substitute for this always raging war._

_Glaring her foes down with a look of defiance, she stood firm in her stance with fingers poised to type out their defeat._

_She would not lose._

_She was Determined-_

"Who made this food?!" You jolted up out of your reverie, eye wide at the disruption of your usual ritual in the cafe. You placed a hand over your heart, having felt it give a slightly painful lurch at the loud noise. You didn't really like yelling.

Turning your head to look for the owner of the voice (and possibly shoot daggers into their back with your eye once you found them) your gaze fell onto a middle-aged woman with a hand pressed against the bakery display to support her body as she shouted over the counter, a pastry that hadn't even been bitten into being shaken violently in her hand in the face of the worker. Right behind her and attempting to calm her down with no luck whatsoever was a middle-aged man, probably her husband, who looked mousy and extremely embarrassed that the woman was causing a scene and gaining more attention.

You couldn't blame him. The female had quite the adenoidal voice and upon studying the workout clothes that were entirely too bright for her age and the stylish yet unkempt bun that her hair was in, she seemed to be quite the shrew.

Looking entirely too casual for an afternoon on a weekday, you noticed she was accosting a monster (oyster-like with a clam upon their shoulders and a pearl as their head) who looked like she would rather be  _anywhere_ but right in front of this lady. 

You actually knew this monster though. Nacre was her name; a year prior, you would see her often begging for change near the supermarket that you went to whenever you had to go restock the house on food. You were actually the one that referred her to a job here because she was down on her luck and you were good with the owners here.

Nacre was one of the sweetest creatures alive though, with horrible anxiety to boot... She'd do her best to appease everyone just to avoid conflict. So why was she being yelled at?

"T-The o-o-owners m-made it, M-M'am! I-I-I-I just c-c-carried the f-food out h-here!"

"So you  _touched_ it?!" You bristled a bit at the disgusted tone the woman managed to spit out at the now trembling monster and started to think that perhaps she was prejudiced. You glanced around to see any bystander's expressions and felt profound disappointment that most stared at the scene but then warily looked away, as they were not willing to become part of the situation.

_'You're one to talk... How many times have you looked the other way when someone was in trouble...?'_

Oh, hello Guilt. When was the last time we had a delightful chat, sometime past Never?

The bell above the door jingled softly to indicate six newly arrived customers-- two skeleton monsters of vastly differing heights and four human children with identical smiles and rosy cheeks-- as the woman continued her tirade. However, due to trying to bear her incredibly annoying voice with quite the headache pounding an excruciating beat in your head, you were unable to notice the people that had just entered the cafe. It seemed that her much more mild-mannered husband had given up on trying to stop her if the way he was hunched over in a seat nearby meant anything, and thus the woman was given free reign.

"I will have you know that I'm _allergic_ to seafood! Even a single drop of fish oil could send me into anaphylactic shock, and you're telling me that you _touched_ my _food_ while serving it to me!? There are food handling regulations to avoid this specific kind of thing, you know that!? _Where are your gloves?_ "

At hearing her complaint, your face went blank.

_Did she just…? Was she implying what you believed she was…?_

“I-I-I was w-w-wearing them when I-I-I s-s-served you y-y-your food M-M’am! B-But I had to d-d-discard them a-after touching a f-food with n-nuts—“ Frowning deeper as the monster began to cower slightly while the woman once again reeled up to start another rant, you sighed deeply and brought yourself to your feet.

“So you’re telling me that a possible _nut_ allergy happening is more important than my _own?!_ Such _horrible_ customer service, I swear I’ll file a lawsuit-!”

“Madame.” In the warmest voice you could muster (which wasn’t even reaching lukewarm levels), you interrupted her yelling by approaching calmly as you struggled to keep your expression polite, rather than something clearly saying _’This truly is a dumbass person’_. “I believe you are making an extremely impractical and useless fuss. There is no possible way that you could be allergic to the young woman here.”

The woman seemed to glance over at you with some measure of pity, but the anger from being served by the clam-like monster didn't dissipate. Her tone was sickly sweet when she next spoke. "Honey, I understand that the education for your generation is horrible, but just look at her. She's a _clam_ , and clams are seafood. One of the eight most common allergies. Others will come around with this allergy, and if I weren't careful about my own, I could've died. It's better this _monster_ work someplace she won't risk triggering anyone's allergies."

Your eye twitched at the thinly veiled insult to your intelligence; This woman was already extremely close to getting dragged out of the store, and the patronizing tone was only going to make things more difficult for her.

“Listen to what you have just said, Madame. Seafood. _Food_. She would have to be _food_ in order for you to have an allergic reaction to her. Not to mention she obviously needs to have the proper food-handling requirements to even be working here, or she wouldn’t _be_ here in the first place. Judging her by her looks is a gross miscalculation on your part, and I believe you owe her an apology."

With her hands shifting to her hips, the woman was prepared to turn her full attention and attitude onto you, but an orotund yet appealing voice nearby cut her off before she could even begin. "MISS, IT'S TRUE, US MONSTERS AREN'T FOOD. THAT, AND OUR BODIES ARE MADE OF MAGIC; THEREFORE WE CANNOT PRODUCE THESE SEAFOOD 'ALLERGENS' YOU'RE REFERRING TO!"

It was one of the newer arrivals-- the short skeleton (about as tall as you but still short compared to his companion), clad in tasteful black slacks and a white button-up shirt, with blue suede shoes and a light blue bandana to accessorize. His skull was surprisingly expressive, with an eager-to-please smile and bright blue stars in his sockets that seemed to function as his eyes. One might say you and the other patrons of this shop were a bit _star-struck_ by his loud presence.

God damn it brain. This was not the time.

This being seemed to be oddly familiar, however… Perhaps you had seen him in passing on one of your walks before.

The woman seemed to lose a bit of steam in her argument but continued anyway, possibly out of pride. “…Be that as it may, my allergy is a very life-threatening one and I cannot take any chances! I would like a full refund and possibly a different pastry that wasn’t at all in the vicinity of this _thing-_ “

“Ma’am, I’m going to speak now, and I want you to listen _very_ carefully to what I’m saying.” You interrupted quickly, feeling quite done with this lady’s shit already. She shut up, turning a glare to you at your audacity to hinder her demand but it ultimately paled in the face of your own. “You have disturbed this entire establishment with your nonsense, as well as the routines of everyone present at this moment. You have robbed the employee here,” You gestured to Nacre, “the security of working here this day, and possibly for the rest of it without the worry that she might make a mistake later on.” Your voice was dropping severely in temperature, your eye narrowed at the woman’s suddenly uncertain face. “You have robbed _me_ of the peace that I regularly come to this bakery for, as well as the peace of the rest of patrons here, all for the fact that you discriminated against this employee’s physical form by thinking she could flare up your unfortunate allergy which if she was even _able_ to, though that had been disproven just now, would only have been able to happen if you attempted to _EAT_ her, though this uneducated youth believes you are much smarter than that, yes?” You mockingly asked, watching with inner glee as patrons around attempted to hide their sudden snickers at her embarrassed red face. “I suggest you leave this establishment before the very business inclined owners hear all this commotion and come to the front to find you delaying the business that they’re trying to run.”

The woman had, by this time, lost all of the bravado that she had sported from before, twiddling her fingers as she stared back at your glare with wide eyes. “B-But-“

“Because believe me,” You finished, your voice hitting absolute zero, _”I would be happy to make them aware of this situation.”_

The woman's husband, now seeing the opportunity to remove his wife away from the scene she'd been causing, gently took her arm and began to guide her from the establishment. Her disgruntled mutters were unheard by most of the patrons, and as the two exited the door, the last thing that could be seen of them was the man mouthing the word 'sorry' to those inside.

Well... Maybe now the patrons would be able to recover their previously disturbed peace... after the short skeleton from before gushed over you, of course. "SALUTATIONS, FINE LADY! I'D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE YOU ON YOUR EFFICIENT HANDLING OF THE SITUATION!" You couldn’t help but jump at the very volume this skeleton presented himself with, your eye blinking spastically before you settled back down. Your expression warmed from one of warning to politeness. "I AM THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY, AND THIS IS MY BROTHER, STRETCH!"

He gestured to the taller skeleton, clad in an orange hoodie and black sweatpants with orange stripes going up the sides. Stretch paused his lollipop-sucking to hold up two fingers in a lazy salute, comment a simple, "yo," and then resumed enjoying the candy treat to let Blue do his thing.

“Greetings to the both of you. Thank you for attempting to assuage the situation as well, Mister… Blue.” You gave a quasi-friendly smile, trying not to think about how sadly unnatural it felt on your face before the reason why you had interfered in the first place hit you. “Nacre. Nacre, are you alright?” You asked quietly turning to face the still slightly shaking monster that was cringing behind the display counter.

“I…. I-I-I…”

“Hey, hey, no no no no, it’s gonna be okay, don’t cry…” You felt a dull panic flare in your chest at the sight of tears building at the corners of her eyes, and immediately felt your ‘Elder Sister’ instincts kick-in. You hesitated a moment before carefully offering your hands to her, able to hold back your flinch as she gripped them tight like they were a lifeline. “She’s gone now, and I’m very positive she won’t come back… Take some deep breaths okay? Go to the back if you need to so you can calm down… Tell Muffet, Widow, and Spiro what just happened. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“B-But… T-The register…”

“All of the regulars here and I will watch it until someone comes back up, not to mention the other little workers around here.” You replied softly, referring to the little spiders up in the rafters. “Go calm down… It’ll be okay.”

She sniffled softly, giving a slow nod as her grip on your hands loosened gradually. “Y-Yeah… T-Thanks Olivia…”

“You’re welcome.” You said with a small smile watching her turn to head to the back.

…………

….Aaaaand now you were just awkwardly standing for no reason as everyone stared at you. _Fuck._ You drummed your fingers on the glass slightly before shuffling hurriedly back to your booth, sliding into your seat and putting your head down against the cool granite table-top.

Your headache was getting progressively worse, god… First the lack of sustenance and sunlight, then the worry of not being able to get out the current chapter you were working on to your editor on time, then the possible worry that you’d be seen by the paparazzi by just leaving your house, and now being reminded once again just how much human beings _sucked—_

‘Gah… Now _I_ need my anxiety medication. _Wonderful._ ' You thought with a soft groan, shoving your hand blindly into your bag and digging around to pull out a third little bottle with said medication before placing it on the table.

After a few moments, the opposite side of your booth was occupied by a smooth skeleton sliding in-- the one in the orange hoodie, Stretch. His sockets were closed, somehow, and he just kinda laid there, his brother busy watching the four human children they'd come in with.

If you hadn't seen him move literally seconds earlier, you would've thought he'd been asleep for a few hours with how relaxed he looked.

"nice to see a human standin' up for us. that's a rare thing." He spoke, his sockets remaining closed. Your mind promptly gave his voice the label of 'husky sotto voce'. It was an author's habit, don't judge.

However, you were losing energy fast and therefore didn’t have the presence of mind to even startle as you had with the other skeleton. You lifted your head just a bit so you could glance up at the skeleton now occupying your booth with you. You had a vague thought on how it felt like you also knew  _this_ skeleton from somewhere too.

“…..Nothin’ special.” You say in a mutter. “Humans suck.”

You saw the corner of his… mouth(?) twitch a bit as if he was holding back a smile. “…but yer a human.”

“Ironic, isn’t it?” You sigh, moving to unscrew the caps on your antibiotic and anxiety medicine. You couldn’t take the Motrin without something on your stomach.

Seeming interested in what you were doing, the lanky skeleton opened one of his sockets to glance at the medication on the table before you. Then, his gaze turned towards the unlit magic candle off to the side, and one of his browbones rose slightly.

"most ya humans really like these candles. why's yours not lit?" He seemed to be curious, and for a relatively good reason.

In fact, now that humans were accepting the existence of souls, the candles actually were a large plus for dining at monster restaurants. To see someone hanging around a table with a candle and not using it was somewhat odd.

“………” Truthfully, you had expected this question but you ultimately had no answer that wouldn’t be worrisome in some way.

_Damn._

“…..I just have a feeling that I shouldn’t. I’m slightly uncomfortable with the idea.” You say vaguely with no indication that you were going to elaborate further, popping out a single pill of each bottle onto your hand before you felt a tug on your sleeve. Looking over, you spotted the smallest of the human children that entered with the skeleton monsters holding onto your sweater sleeve with a shy and soft smile.

_This kid… Looked awfully familiar too._

“….Hello there.”

The smol child climbed up onto the booth seat and hugged you; not speaking, only hugging. Stretch, peering over the table at the kid, raised his other bone-brow. Both bone-brows were now raised.

"whatcha doin', kara?"

...The child merely hugged you closer.

You stared blankly for a moment or two before another one of the children scampered on up to your position; this one a little taller than the one already clinging to you, and wearing a dark violet sweater with a single black stripe adorning the middle of it. You blinked at them as they stared up at you with wide eyes, glancing between you and Kara a few times before scrambling up onto the booth and joining in on the hugfest.

“Erm…” You let your arms hang in the air awkwardly as you stared down at the kids, feeling a fair warmth in your chest that you believed stemmed from them but not really understanding why….

Needless to say, you were confused.

“Um. T-There there…?” You stuttered out as you gently gave them both a pat on the back (just because your aversion to touch didn’t act up around children didn’t mean you weren’t awkward about it), before looking at Honey in concern. “Is… This okay?”

The hoodie-clad skeleton shrugged as he sat up, beginning to scan the nearby area. If you had to assume, you'd say he was looking for his bro and the other two kids. "i guess they like ya. probably sense the good in your soul. kids have a knack for that sorta thing." His gaze settled in one spot, and his browbones furrowed in thought before he laid back down again and relaxed. "my bro's on his way with the other kiddos. maybe they can help."

“Good in my Soul, huh…?” You murmur softly in question, swallowing your pills dry and watching as Kara looked up at you and nodded before lifting up their hands and beginning to sign.

‘You look a lot like someone I was really close to a while ago.’ You blinked a bit before beginning to sign back.

‘Really?’ Their eyes, which were the prettiest crimson, by the way, lit up upon realizing you knew sign language yourself at the same time as Shara's.

‘Yeah, she was really pretty, just like you.’

'S-Same for me, Miss.' You were slightly taken aback as Shara cosigned the statement before feeling your lips twitched as you held back a smile.

‘You flatter me, kiddies. I know someone who looks a bit like the two of you too; I took care of them at the local orphanage.’

Kara tilted their head curiously, glancing up and down your form before signing, 'Orphanage? Who?' The sound of Blueberry and the other two kids approaching could be heard in the near distance, but it seemed that this child wasn't going to let that stop them from chatting with you. Shara, however, seemed content to be mostly silent. Your gaze went slightly distant as you remembered all the good times you had down at the orphanage before you were forced to stay away if you wanted the place to keep getting the donations they needed to keep all the children healthy and relatively happy. You gave a soft sigh before you signed out their name by letter.

'Their name was Frisk. They were quite the flirt. They were my friend and I’s favorite along with one other girl.’

Kara gasped excitedly, beginning to sign faster. 'I know Frisk! They're one of my besties!' The child proceeded to climb down from your lap, and run off across the bakery, while Shara was happy to just keep their arms firmly around you. That was not the last to be seen of them, however; they returned within moments with the two other children who looked startlingly like they did. 'This is Chara and Cara! Chara knew Frisk before I did, and they go way back.' Strange how all these children had similar names and similar looks.

Your gaze fell upon Cara first; Like with Kara and Shara, you felt as though you knew them from somewhere, as though you were remembering a long dream with utter fondness. Unlike Kara, who wore a green sweater with a yellow horizontal stripe and was actually fairly younger looking than the other two, Cara wore a black sweater with a single red horizontal stripe. They had the same eye color and facial attributes though, almost as if they were an older version of Shara even, and you realized they were staring at you as though you were an old beloved friend of theirs.

It was Chara, who was literally like the older version of Kara, who threw you for a loop with how strong such happy emotions seemed to backlash in your chest.

And if you didn’t know any better, you would say those were tears building up in their eyes as they stared at you in shock and glee.

‘Am I being punked right now…? Why does it feel like I know all six of these people?’ You thought with some serious confusion, before clearing your throat and waving a hello to them. “Greetings. My name is Olivia, pleasure to meet you.” You focused your gaze on Chara and after some studying, you spoke. “Kara has told me you know Frisk rather well. I often took care of them at the orphanage several years prior, before the arrival of monsters in fact.”

Chara appeared somewhat saddened by something, a shadow passing over and leaving their face within a split second.

_Loss._

But... Loss of what?

"Yes... Frisk helped free the monsters with Kara, Shara, and another who isn't here. I was in the Underground before they fell, so we met very soon after that happened."

"I'll be damned... Frisky-Bits was one of the children that freed an entire civilization..." You murmured with utter awe as Muffet approached your table.

Sliding between the children with a sly smile, she laid out a platter with your order. She seemed to be particularly amused by something, and when you looked over the food you'd been brought, it became clear that a surprise takeout bag on the side was the reason why.

"Consider that baggie on the house, dearie," she said, before lifting it and placing it on your head. "Actually, it's on you! Ahuhuhu~!"

From behind the counter, Spiro called out, "But don't worry, it's already been paid for!"

Apparently, someone got you a snack for later. Nice.

“O-Oh, I…” Taking the bag off your head and looking back at the counter to see Nacre peeking out from behind the door leading to the kitchen with a shy smile, you understood the situation quickly. “You’re absolutely sure…?” You asked quietly, unwilling to turn down a free snack for later but also not wanting to be a burden in any way.

“Why of course deary~! Just be sure to pay for your original food and we’re even.” She replied cheerfully.

“Oh yes, of course…” You replied, going back into your bag for at least the third time you had been in this place to look for your wallet. As you yanked it out victoriously, you ruined the small moment of pride by knocking your deck of cards out of your bag and under the table. “Sonuvabiiiiii-ssscuit eater…” You muttered mutinously, nearly forgetting that there were four children _right beside you._ Honey seemed particularly amused by your attempt to curb your vulgar language as you slapped exact change for your order into one of Muffet’s many hands.

‘I’ll get it!’ Kara offered with a grin, before dipping under the table to grab your little pack of security. ‘Good thing they didn’t fall out everywhere!’

“Actually, one card seems to have escaped.” Cara brought to attention, pointing towards the lone card that was spinning away over the linoleum floor away from the group in a futile attempt to escape.

Blueberry, approaching to take a seat now that the orders had been taken, quickly caught onto the situation and heroically retrieved the escapee-card! It was fumbled once or twice since hard bone on plastic/paper on regularly cleaned linoleum was a slippery combination, but it was eventually brought over to your table.

It wasn't returned before he looked at it though. "OH, IT'S ONE OF THE JOKERS! STRETCH, DID YOU PRANK THE CARD COMPANIES THROUGH TIME AND SPACE AGAIN SO THEY'D MAKE YOU A CARD?"

You felt your heart literally freeze for a split second as you choked down the pills you had retrieved for yourself. “…Did you say Joker…?”

“WHY YES! I IMAGINE YOU’D LIKE IT BACK?” He offered the card to you in a way where you couldn’t see the very particular describing factor of the card that you both needed and _feared_ to see. “THE LITTLE OUT OF PLACE NUMBER UPON IT IS A BIT STRANGE THOUGH, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT MANUFACTURING STANDARDS WERE MUCH HIGHER THAN TO ALLOW SUCH A MISPRINT IN A DECK-“

You swiped the card from his phalange, hoping you were wrong about the very bad feeling that was settling in the pit of your stomach.

Now if several cards had fallen out with this one, you wouldn’t have been panicking at all unless there was a special circumstance. However, since it fell out all by itself, you took it as a form of premonition. The very label of _The Joker_  or _Trump_ card sent shivers down your spine by itself.

However, it was the little two that you had remembered writing on it in black pen when you first bought the deck that truly made your blood run cold.

Death.

Every card had a meaning to it, and overall association with the Second Joker was _D_ _eath._ It was a trump card; its counterpart being life, which was shown by the first Joker. It could mean stagnation, ugliness, chaos, the death of a person, the death of an _idea..._

But.

The future was subjective. Since the future by definition had not yet happened, every possible outcome existed at the same time. If you moved fast enough, you could avoid a bad future because it ultimately was not set in stone until the moment actually occurred.

You had to move, and you had to move _now._

"you okay there hon?" Stretch asked, eyeing your face with a slight brow raised. "ya turned as white as me and my bro just now."

"I have to go."

"W-What...?" Cara stuttered as you hurriedly pushed your order of goodies into the takeout baggie you had been given then hurriedly scooped that and your medicine bottles into your bag. Shara dislodged themselves from you promptly after realizing your panic, looking rather worried themselves. "This is sudden-"

"Damn it, can't bring that with me," You referred to the mug of your hot chocolate was served in as you stuffed your laptop and sketchbook back into your bag as well. "If any of you like Hot Chocolate, you're welcome to have it-"

"WAIT, I'M CONFUSED, WHY DO YOU SUDDENLY HAVE TO LEAVE?" Blueberry seemed horribly disappointed that you were packing up your things.

 _Yes, can't you stay? What do you plan to accomplish by leaving? Trying to run could only help if Death is coming here, coming for_ you _in particular_. _That's not a certain outcome._

You felt yourself hesitate a little, realizing the very real possibilities of the current situation.

_Besides... Would Death truly be so bad for you?_

........

'No... But I can't handle the death of anything close to me right now, it could be catastrophic for my brothers, I can't lose them, I can't let them suffer, they're the only things I have left and I can't just sit here and wait for something to happen-!!'

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you...!" You knew in the back of your mind that you had gained a very panicked tone, but you couldn't bring yourself to care as you replaced the card back into the pack and threw that into the bag too as you hurriedly rushed out of the booth. "Sorry, sorry, very sorry, it was really nice to meet you all, but I really have to get going!"

"W-Wait, don't-!" You disregarded the protest as you dashed past those still standing and out the door, mentally cringing on how harsh the usual jingle of the bell sounded. As was stated earlier, you had no car, and therefore had to run to the current location you had your mind set on as fast as you could.

The nearby intersection crosswalk you needed to cross was beginning its' countdown so if you ran you'd be able to make it across no problem-

"Miss Olivia, wait, please-!!" Why you heard the voice of one of the children following your departure, you had no idea, but you couldn't pay them any mind at this moment.

You began your sprint across the street.

_"Stop!"_

"Chara, wait a second-!!"

_"THERE'S A CAR COMING!!"_

At the loud shout nearly drowned out by the louder honking of automobiles, your head snapped back involuntarily and your brain attempted to process the scene you perceived.

Horrified expressions peering through the cafe window at what was happening.

Cara, Blue, Shara, and Kara frozen in their tracks with wide eyes of terror.

Chara perhaps eight steps behind you with arm outstretched in your direction, expression full of pleading anguish and scarlet eyes brimming with tears.

The sight of a tan car  _barreling_ through the still red light and heading  _right for the unassuming Soul behind you at breakneck speed-_

_"kid!"_

_"C-Chara!!"_

Your body moved of its own accord.

"WATCH OUT CHARA!!"


	3. Your Three of a Kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People say you should always look for a better hand, but you wouldn't give these three cards up for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****  
>  _CHECK OUT THE END NOTES FOR AN AWESOME ANNOUNCEMENT!_   
> 

**_*Hey... Can I... ask you something?  
_ **

_'Hm? Yeah, sure. What is it?'_

**_*Do you... Uhm, y'know... Miss the Surface?_  **

_'...In general, you mean?'_

**_*Ah, no, I know how you feel about it in general... Let me rephrase it better. Is there anything_**   ** _you_ miss _from the Surface?_ **

_'...Is food an option here?'_

**_*Oh my Delta._**

_'Cause if it is, then I have lots; Like, don't get me wrong. Grillby's burgers are the bomb, but damn, I miss a good basket of chili cheese fries sometimes.'_  

**_*No._**

_'And some pastries that perhaps didn't have spiders in them from time to time wouldn't be so bad despite how good they are.'_

**_*Please._ **

_'And I know I should be sick of pasta by now, but I've been craving Chicken Alfredo for the longest-'_

**_*Stop._ **

_'And I would willingly break a bone to taste some sour and gummy candy again, you have no idea-'_

**_*Come on, be serious!_ **

_'I'm always serious.'_

**_*Ughhhhhhh....._ **

_'Heh, okay, okay, lemme think... Well, uh, I miss knowing what time it is. Humans weren't built to handle the thought of infinity. That's a superficial one though, um... I miss seeing the Seasons come and go. I definitely miss rain; Sure, there's the place in Waterfall, but it's just... Not the same.'  
_

**_*Is... That all?_ **

_'Mmm... Yeah, I don't miss much other than that really.'_

**_*...What about people?_ **

_'.....May I ask where you're going with this?'_

**_*I'm... Comparing. You know... To my experience._ **

_'I see...'_

_......................_

_'I do miss my best friend. Well, heh... My only friend up there, really. Hellene was her name... She was my exact opposite and older than me by four years. We've... Gotten into a lot of trouble together. She was like my sister.'_

**_*She sounds really great..._ **

_'Oh yeah, the best. I... Miss her a lot. So...'_

**_*...One more question then, so I can finish my comparison._ **

_'Yeah?'_

**_*Do you ever... Regret... Some of the things that you did up there? Wish that... You had done some things differently, or... Could take things back?_ **

_'Only one. Or two.'_

**_*Like what?_ **

_'For one, just up and leaving Hellene without a word. That... That probably really hurt her. And I'd ask my older brother why he just... Started to pretend that I didn't exist. We... Were so close, when we were younger, and it really hurt once he when he pulled away. It..._

**_*...Felt like a betrayal?_ **

_'Yeah... But moping about that would make me a hypocrite, I guess, because I essentially did that to my younger brothers... My parents threatened me, saying that if I didn't keep my distance from them, they'd make their lives just as miserable as they were making mine. I couldn't... Allow that to happen. I wanted them to be happy, even if I had to act like I was cold and unloving to them. But now I... Wish I had fought back on that part. I should've let them know how much I loved them. Should've repeated it so much that they'd get sick of hearing it, but believed me whenever I spoke those words. They deserve it, after all... They deserved all the love in the world.'_

**_*...You're... So strong. Stronger than I am. I mean that..._ **

_'No. I'm weak. I'm the most terrible person on this entire earth.'_

**_*How could you say that after telling me what your abusers have done to you?!_ **

_'...Because I tried to end it all instead of standing tall.'_

* * *

 

Your head hurt.

You vaguely remember it hurting before of course but instead of a headache pounding out an agonizing beat in your brain, it was more of a lightning rod that originated from a particular place at the back of your skull. You groaned softly as pain streaked through your thoughts, further muddling them as you tried to make some sort of sense of what exactly was happening. Looks like you going to have to take baby steps on this.

Your eye was closed and you were sure that if you opened it, the pain in your head would get that much worse from all the light and disorientation, so that route was out. Your tongue felt numb, and a bit swollen and dry, so that was out too.

You sniffed just a bit and ended up coughing at the smell of... Burning rubber? Smoke? The scent of gasoline and asphalt too... Shit, you still couldn't remember what had happened.

Hearing was next... It was really loud, you knew that for certain. Your brain was going to start bleeding if the din around you didn't shut the fuck up. The noises sort of melded together, much to the frustration of your discombobulated mind. But you think you could make out... Alarms? A car alarm... Honking? Lots of people shouting too... There sounded like there was a furious argument going on a little aways from you.

Feeling then... Your sense of gravity and the distinct lack of anything on your feet was telling you that... You were on your back. That made sense at least... You could feel something hard and a few sharp pebbles pressing into your back through your shirt. There was an odd weight and warmth on the top of your body, and it moved... As though it was breathing. Heavily. More like sobbing with panic actually. It was a familiar warmth though. You'd recognize that certain contour of a body anywhere after everything you'd been through with them. Your arms, wrapped around their body protectively to begin with, wound tighter around them as you clutched them closer.

_~~**.**. **.** C **F** h **r** a **i** r **s** a **k**. **.**. **?**?~~_

“O-Olivia…” You furrowed your brow, feeling disgruntlement and fuzzy acknowledgment float through your head at the name. That was your name, wasn’t it…?

_ ~~**'Ours… Our Name…'** ~~ _

Our… name…?

“Olivia…? …Olivia, are you okay?!” You felt yourself wince a bit as the human atop you began to panic, causing their voice to skyrocket in volume and their motions to jostle you, disturbing your already foul headache. “Oh my god, oh my god, I’m so _sorry_ , please, speak to me!”

“Sweetheart, please… Let me sleep… “ You mumbled in return, wanting to shift onto your side, but unable to because of the body pinning you down. “Bad headache… You know how I get when I have a headache…”

“No, no, you might have a concussion!! You have to stay awake!!!” Your groan became louder as they began to shake you in order to keep you from slipping back into the very welcoming darkness. “Come on Olivia, open your eye!”

Releasing a sound of agony, you resigned yourself to not getting any more sleep until you got Chara ~~ _ **( '**_~~ _ ~~ **Frisk...?')**~~_  to calm down and opened your eye slowly. You hissed in displeasure as bright light hit your eye, causing your headache to worsen, then sighed with soft relief as a shadow blocked whatever evil illumination was hitting your face. It took immense effort to focus on whatever was right above your face now.

Red eyes. Tearful eyes. You knew those crimson eyes.

“Ch… Chara…?” You whispered hoarsely, grimacing as more pain from the rest of your body began to register in your head. “What… What happened…? Where are we…? It’s… It’s never this bright in the Underground…”

Chara stiffened slightly, looking over you with visible concern and discomfort; maybe even a little fear. "We're... Not _in_ the Underground, you just saved me from being hit by a car... You ran out of the cafe, remember?"

“A… A car…? But there aren’t… Agh, m-my head…” You cringed as your headache came back with an absolute vengeance, quite literally arguing with all the other pain and becoming the forefront of your worries. “It hurts… Please, sweetheart, get off… I wanna sit up…” Chara complied quickly and hovered with worry as you somehow managed (with serious effort) to sit upright. You swayed slightly, and you felt Chara’s arm brace itself against your back and keep you up. Your head lolled a bit so you could spy Chara’s face, rosy with tears. You absentmindedly reached up to wipe them away, muttering. “Don’t cry, Char… You know I hate it when you cry…” You turned your head back towards the ruckus, missing their wary and fragile hopeful look as you attempted to make heads and tails of the situation.

Nearby, the car in question was quite deeply tangled with the median of the road, metal twisted and contorted around cement. Judging by the smoke rising from under the crumpled hood, that vehicle wouldn't be going anywhere fast, and its driver was anything but pleased with this development. "Crazy bitch running into the road, use the fucking crosswalk next time! You just cost me my car cuz I swerved to avoid your ass!"

"hey man, chill. it's just a car. better a car than a life, yeah?" Ah. It seemed that Stretch ~~ _ **('**_~~ ~~ _ **Papyrus')**_~~ had your back.

Wait a minute…

You were running... And there was a red light…

That’s right…!

 _“You utter asshole!!”_ You shrieked in the direction of the ~~_**unimportant**_~~ male that somehow managed to get out of the twisted metal pretzel that was now his car with minor cuts and bruises, now on your feet (how had you managed that?) and stumbling in his direction with a snarl. Chara scrambled up and followed you, wrapping their arms around your midsection in a restraining manner. “You _dare_ try to pin the blame on us when you ran a _fucking red light?!_  We had the right of way _motherfucker!!_ ” You lurched forward in your rage, nearly stumbling and collapsing to the ground again, but Stretch ~~ _ **('**_~~ ~~ _ **Papyrus')**_~~ caught you and Chara before you could fall. “I’m fine Carrot Cake…” You grumbled irritably, once again missing the flash of recognition that ran through his sockets as your glare was focused on the perpetrator of this whole thing.

The man stared back at you with narrowed eyes and an angry glower, ignoring the words of the lanky skeleton holding you up. "Absolutely it's your fault! What the fuck kind of idiot just runs out into the middle of the road outta nowhere? The only reason you're still alive is because I didn't want a death on my record!"

Standing up straight, the man approached, reaching into one of his inner pockets and pulling out a phone. "Now you listen to me and you listen good, missy. You're gonna pay for the damages to my car, and you're gonna pay for whatever my insurance company wants from this. Otherwise? I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to take this to court."

Something inside you wanted to lunge for this man’s throat and throttle him, howling with spite and vengeance, but your disoriented mind seemed to think there was a much better road to take in this instance…

“Ebott.”

“Excuse me?”

“My parents’ last name. It’s Ebott.” You muttered, a cold quiet tone in your voice that surprised even you. “I’m sure you know who Jaden and Zirconia Ebott are, right? If you live anywhere in this entire region, you definitely do. It’d be a shame if they somehow found out you were attempting to threaten their precious little girl into paying for an accident that _you_ caused. _Especially_ since it was caught on video surveillance.” You hissed sibilantly, gesturing to the cameras near the stoplights of the intersection.

Oh, you were lying so hard through your teeth and you knew it, but it was so worth seeing his eyes flicker up at your gesture and face paling deeply (Did he really think he was going to get away with fraud and near vehicular manslaughter so easily? Idiot.), his haughty and self-righteous attitude slipping just a bit before he tried to bring up what was probably a good point in his mind. “And you expect me to believe that a wretched _bitch_ like you has _any_ connections with the Angels of Ebott, let alone being _related_ _?!_ Don’t make me laugh!”

The tall skeleton beside you stiffened, and Chara growled under their breath at the insult, but despite your less than optimal disposition, you looked around with a hard look. “My bag... Where’s my bag?”

“Miss Olivia.” You glanced to the side as Blue ~~ _ **('**_~~ ~~ _ **Sans')**_~~ came up, his cheerful expression from before nowhere to be found and his voice much quieter as well as he held out your knapsack to you, Shara _ **('Chara')**_ , Kara _ **('**_ ~~ _ **Chara')**_~~ , and Cara ~~ _(' Chara')_~~ flanking him as they glared at the man (who looked to be losing confidence).

“Thanks Blueberry Muffin.” You muttered, dipping down into the bag and yet once again missing his reaction to your words (Sockets widening to their maximum as his blue circles grew larger, minus the stars) and pulled out your wallet, flicking it open and pulling out your ID before flashing it in the man’s face.

If possible, he paled even further upon seeing your picture and your full name on the ID.

“Read it aloud jackass,” You insisted, your eye narrowing dangerously, “Let me hear you say the name that’s written underneath my picture.”

"Olivia Misteria Ebott." His bravado all but gone, the man seemed to be thinking deeply for something that would bring things back into his favor...

The scowl on his face told you that he was coming up empty.

“Now, if you want to find yourself lawsuit-free, _sir_ , you’ll listen to _me._ “ You all but spat out, with quite the terrifying look on your face. You were sure that four crimson eyed children and two blank-socketed skeletons flanking you and staring him down probably helped with the intimidation tactic. “I hope you’ve got all ideas of attempting fraud out of your brain because I _will_ make you regret it if you try anything. You better not mess with these six  _or_ their family members either because I promise you that I _will_ find out if you do. No, instead, what you’re going to do is accept the consequences of your actions like a respectable being and own up to the police when they show up about what you did. I assure you that if you do that before they look at the traffic cameras that you will get less of a penalty. It will still be quite hefty since you nearly committed _vehicular manslaughter of a minor_ due your inability to judge to between the colors and placement of red, yellow, and green on a stoplight, but it will still be less.” Your words were biting, almost worthy of inflicting frostbite, and you felt a less than innocent sort of glee upon seeing him back up a step with fear. “If you can do _that_ , I’ll stay out of the whole thing and you won’t have a lawsuit on your hands. And if you’re nice, I’ll even pay for a new car for you. Cause I’m _nice like that._ “ You mocked with a sarcastic smile, your eye still as hard as flint. “It’s surely much more mercy than _you_ deserve.”

The light greed you could see in his eyes made you sneer a bit, but the fear and hate that reigned supreme in his expression was so much more satisfying. You scoffed as he nodded his very reluctant agreement before scurrying off to the remains to his car in a way reminiscent to that of a cockroach.

~~_ *Sad. _ ~~

~~_***Pathetic.** _ ~~

_~~~~ ***Pitiful.** _

_‘Disgusting…’_ You growled in your head before the deep pulse of pain at the back of your skull pulled you back into reality. You nearly crumpled, moaning from the suddenness of it.

The hoodie-clad skeleton caught you once more, taking a look at the back of your head. "hey, we should probably get you to a hospital or a healer... do you have a preference?"

Beside you, Chara nodded firmly and looked up to you with eyes red from tears as well as irises. "Don't push yourself like that, I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

You were inclined to agree, and began to open your mouth to say you wanted a healer (because fuck hospitals) before the reason of you bolting from the store once again came to the forefront of your mind. You glanced towards Chara; the divination had probably been meant for them... And you _saved_ them, but you still wanted to make sure. You shook your head, gritting your teeth as you attempted to ignore the intensifying pain at the motion while taking your bag from Blue ~~ _ **('**_~~ _ ~~ **Sans, dammit')**~~_ ~~~~, and replacing your wallet and ID back into it. "Neither. I got to head out and go somewhere important. I'll be fine."

You truly wish your tottering attempt to walk away wasn't as tremulous as Pauly Shore's career because if it hadn't been, you probably wouldn't have been stopped by the shorter skeleton.

But then again, you still might've been. Sane people didn't exactly just let someone who could've been collateral damage in a car crash simply walk away from the scene. Ditto if the person was actually _injured._

"YOU ARE _NOT_ FINE!" Seeing you cringe away from his volume and whining softly as you placed your hands over your ears to block out noise, he quickly lowered his voice once again and approached with his hands raised as if wishing to soothe your pain. "You're bleeding Miss Olivia! Your head needs to be checked right away!" You blinked, frowning just a bit before you reached up to gingerly prod around the more tender areas of your skull. You artfully hid your wince as you felt the soreness flare up, and pulled away your hand to see your pointer and middle fingertips coated lightly with red.

'Damn. Guess I hit my head harder than I thought... My hair is gonna be stained pink for a bit now.' You thought with a dash of indifference before speaking once more. "I've had worse."

Sad thing was, you weren't lying.

But as his expression turned into an amalgamation of doubtful and increasingly worried for your health, you sighed (this was taking away precious time from going to check on your loved ones) and reached into your bag one last time to get one of the Echo Flower Tarts you had stashed in the baggie you were given. Thankfully, none of the food was terribly smashed.

Taking a hearty bite out of it, you didn't even allow yourself to enjoy the flavor, instead focusing on the feeling of soreness fading away slowly from your body and the sort of sickening feeling of the wound in your scalp stitching the flayed edges of the skin back together and halting the bleeding.

You would never get used to the feeling of magical food fixing injuries. It was still sore, your headache wasn't completely gone, and the area was throbbing dully, but it was nothing you couldn't handle. There would probably be a scar left behind.

Just one more to add to the countless ones you already had.

"There. It stopped bleeding." You announced, slowly backing away from the skeleton (who looked like he was becoming increasingly concerned and unamused with your blatant stubbornness) that was blocking your path. "It's just sore now and I'll make sure to put ice on it later. Now if you excuse me, I  _really_ should be going-"

You should've known it wasn't going to be that easy. Things never were in your life.

You ended up backing into someone and froze as large hands clamped down over your upper arms to keep you from going anywhere. "sorry doll, but you should really get that looked at by a professional."

While not the violent recoil that you usually expected yourself to react from being touched by a stranger, you still cringed away a bit in his hold, just barely able to keep yourself from hyperventilating.

You were so glad that a sweater had been blocking any and all physical contact with your skin.

Due to just barely teetering on the edge of panic, you didn't exactly think about your next words. "Don't call me doll, Carrot Cake. Please let go of me... I k-kinda have issues with being touched..."

Stretch ~~ **('Pa. Py. Rus.')**~~ seemed to deliberate on this request for a bit before he released your arms, and stepped back a bit to give you some space. Kind of him. "interestin' nickname."

"You look to be an interesting person, only seems fair." You shot back as you cautiously stepped away from him, seeing another possible escape route in your peripheral; if you moved fast, you could be gone in the gathering crowd around the entire scene in about five seconds...

You bit back a curse as the trinity of rosy-cheeked children blocked that way out. "We're sorry, Miss Olivia," Cara ~~ _('Chara')_~~ began, advancing slowly with a concerned expression and hands raised as if approaching a frightened animal that was ready to defend itself, "But we can't let you go without making sure you're going to be alright." They insisted, the other three behind them nodding rapidly in agreement.

Your eye flitted rapidly back and forth, the realization that you were completely surrounded setting in.

_Fuck._

"Nngh... Alright, alright,  _fine._ " You groaned out, feigning resignation and slumping over in your posture, keeping a literal eye on their relieved forms from behind the hair that slid into your face. "But uh, if I  _have_ to go with you guys... Can we leave before the authorities and paramedics get here? Like, right now? 'Cause if my ears do not deceive me..." Your ears perked up as they caught the sound of distant sirens slowly coming closer to your location, "They're gonna be here very soon."

Just as you had hoped, all six heads snapped up in the direction of a few police cars barreling onto the scene with two ambulances following close behind, sirens blaring loudly.

"BUT WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO-" The shorter skeleton began to say, but upon turning his head back towards you, realized that you were completely gone. " _MWEHHHH?!_ BUT... HOW-?!" He cried out in surprise, his skull whipping back and forth in an effort to find you.  _"WHERE'D SHE GO?!?!"_

 _"Olivia?!"_ Chara cried out in perplexed distress, the other three children joining in with shouts of discomfiture as they all began looking for long gray hair in the large crowd gathered around the scene. The taller skeleton cursed under his breath as he glanced this way and that, his gaze resting in one area for a bit longer than was necessary before he gave a deep sigh.

"she's gone. we'll never find 'er now." He clicked his teeth together a couple of times before looking towards the other monster. "bro, you should take the kids home."

"BUT-!"

"they're distraught right now; they're gonna need to calm down. i'll handle the police n' tell 'em what happened, alright? maybe i'll spot the girl afterward too."

"WELL... ALRIGHT, BROTHER."

* * *

 Something inside you felt extreme guilt upon hearing the children's dismayed cries at you managing to do a Batman on them, but this was just something you couldn't help.

'Thank Jashin for the many years of practice I have of sneaking off unnoticed.' You thought with severe relief, throwing up your hood and clutching your bag close to your chest. You walked through the crowd as calmly as you could for some time before slipping through a few back alleys, a particular set of destinations in mind. 

~~_***Okay, I'm confused--How did Papyrus and Sans settle down so quick? Last time I checked, the barrier had just been broken! And how does Chara know them? And why are they all going by different names?!** _ ~~

~~_*Excuse me, but why do you call them Sans, Papyrus, and Chara...?_ ~~

**~~_*Cause that's who they are!!_ ~~ **

~~_*...From what I remember, they don't look at_  all  _like that. They're edgy looking and_ Sans _is the lazy one, not Papyrus. Besides, Chara was the one with the black sweater..._~~

** _*You are both incorrect. While their personalities are indeed similar to the skeletons we just met, they are also 'edgy' looking as well. And Chara was the one with the violet sweater._ **

**~~_*What kinda shit you two smokin'-_ ~~ **

'This is new...' You thought to yourself as voices continued to argue back and forth in your mind; usually, you were sure that any voice in your head was... You. Well duh, obviously, but mental voices knew what _you_ knew.

So... Who were Sans and Papyrus exactly...? And why did the names sound familiar?

.............

Ugh, no. You couldn't deal with this right now. You were on a mission.

Two places, in particular, you would need a ride to, but the third was owned by a particular human that you actually had tender platonic feelings for. And was close enough to get to on foot. She certainly wouldn't mind driving you to check on your brothers. Whipping out your phone, you went into your contacts to press the message button under the contact name 'Hellen-Bae'. ' _Oi,'_ You started to type out as you slipped through a store or two in the direction of a particular set of apartments, ' _Ya better be home bitch, I need to check on ya and make sure you're still eating right.'_

Within a few moments, your phone sounded out a reply, indicating that whoever this Hellen-Bae was had some free time on her hands. ' _What a coincidence. I was just about to head out for some magic pastries and to look for a new toy to play around with~'_ Oh boy. ' _But I can do that later. Drop on by hon, the back is unlocked :3'_

Rolling your eye affectionately, you kept an eye out for any skeletons or crimson-eyed children as you walked calmly in the direction of a café/bar, crossing streets with extreme caution before you managed to make it to a certain bricked building. You snuck alongside into the alleyway and hummed the Mission Impossible theme as you climbed a rickety metal staircase to an apartment complex that was placed above the eatery, and came to a stop before a metal door marked with the golden numbers '203'. _'I'm here woman, open up.'_

The door slammed open with a dramatic bang, and just inside, gesturing for you to enter, was your bestie Hellene. With an athletically toned body, her pale skin, short spiky black hair, and bright yellow eyes--it seemed she'd chosen yellow contacts today--she already stood out from the crowd. To top this off, however, was a black tank top, a short skirt of black and red and silver plaid design, black boots with thick and functional two-inch heels, gold and silver bracelets and rings, and a gold necklace with a ruby pendant upon it.

From anyone else she might've gotten a leer or a scandalized look, but from you, she got a fond and extremely relieved sigh.

She was your Three of Clubs. Your Comprehension.

_ ***Who the hell is this?!** _

~~**_*...And what the fuck have you done to my Hellene?_**~~

~~_*Shhh!_ ~~

"In you go!" She sang, reaching forth and guiding you in by your arm with perhaps a little bit more force than expected. The familiar sight of her small living room furnished with alternating dark and light furniture (which shouldn't have gone together but somehow she made it work) helped to relax you a bit. "So, what juicy new details do you have in your life now? New friends? A love interest for me to threaten? Anybody I need to beat up for you? Why the hell is there blood in your hair; is it yours or someone else's? Either way, someone's gonna pay for it staining your gorgeous silver locks."

"Cheesus and Crackers, Play-Bae, slow down a bit would ya?" You grumbled good-naturedly as you just barely managed to recover from your stumbling inside. A testament to her strength; the pale woman could knock a bitch out cold with one punch. You meandered further inside while she flounced towards the kitchen, coming back quickly with a damp rag so she could meticulously rub away at the drying blood in your hair. "And please, you know I'm a hermit. Does _anything_ new ever happen in my life?" Hellene was probably proud to say that she was one of the only beings on this earth that could touch you without any adverse effects happening; like being thrown over your shoulder for example. Dusting yourself off and looking up at the crazy woman once more, a ghost of a smile twitched onto your face. "Nice contacts, love. You seem to be going the sunny color route lately."

"Why thank you! I guess I've been feeling a bit more cheerful since I've had the pleasure of meeting a few hot young men and sharp young women to seek out in the future~" She wiggled her eyebrows at you suggestively while tossing away the washcloth when she finished with her task (and making a disappointed sound at the pink tinge the hair in that area had taken), and sat down in a nearby chair to pose in quite the seductive manner. A few moments passed before she giggled and sat upright, looking over you with keen eyes. "But still," she said, "I have a gut feeling. _Something_ happened to you, and I want the deets!" It seemed that she was going to be quite persistent about this.

"If it wasn't for the fact that you've known me for six years, I'd _swear_ you were psychic." You sighed, moving to plop down into a chair and relaxing into it with a groan. Pulling the bag onto your lap, you went digging through it to pull out your goodie bag and lightly tossed the Boo-berry muffin into her quick and careful hands. She squealed in delight, and you chuckled with amusement. "Get comfortable, cause it's a long story. So, I left my house because of The Blockage, thinking that the change of scenery would help me think..."

* * *

_Forty-five minutes later..._

* * *

"Aaaand, that's what happened." You finished, tossing a hand up in the air in exasperation. "What you think?"

Whenever you needed advice about anything,  _anything at all_ , you would always go to Hellene. She didn't know  _everything_ (and if you had your way, she never would), but she  _did_ know that your parents weren't as perfect as the public liked to believe. She was your confidant, your 'bosom buddy' as she liked to call it, and always told you what you needed to hear (even if it wasn't what you  _wanted_ to hear). Hellene was understanding, she was cognition, she was positive thought energy given physical form, and you were always grateful for her existence.

You'd believe she was a Hierophant or a High Priestess of a Tarot deck, but she wasn't very subtle or secretive in nature and whoever tried to call her a conformist obviously had issues. That's why she was the Three of Clubs instead.

Nonetheless, she was wise for the ripe age of twenty-five and her advice always had clout.

Stroking an imaginary beard, the quirky Hellene thought for a few minutes before pointing directly at you. "...Primarily, I think you need to get laid."

Although, that didn't mean she wasn't going to be... Herself.

~~_***Holy shit, she sounds like me.** _ ~~

_***...Irony must think this is hilarious.** _

~~_*She sounds... Much calmer than my Hellene actually._ ~~

"Of _course_ you'd say something like that." You deadpanned, your eye a flat blue. "When I get over my fear of bein' touched, I'll let you know. Although I'd probably be more attracted to Monsters than I would be for actual Humans." Your mind wandered a bit as you thought about it before shaking your head as she continued on.

"But regarding what's happened to you recently, I'd say you should try to make friends with them. The kids, mainly the one you saved in the road, sound like they'd benefit from your presence. The skeletons seemed to be wrapped around their fingers right? So you can get to know them through the buffering presence of the kids."

That was an, uh... interesting plan she had there.

"You _do_ realize the only reason that I have _you_ as a friend is because your parents also have influence over Ebott, right? Hans and Ravenna wouldn't dare piss your parents off by keeping me from you after you made a huge scene the last time they tried to bar me from seeing you." You actually smirked at the thought; the shocked stiffed looks that had been on your parents' faces as Hellene cussed them out was one of your fondest memories. No one, other than Hellene herself, had ever stood up to them. She had your ever-lasting loyalty and respect for that. "And besides, didn't you hear me? I feel like I _know_ these people extensively even though I know for a fuckin' fact that I have never met them." Although one of these strange new voices in your head seemed to know them pretty well.

Just when you thought you were able to keep your last bit of sanity, Life had to prove you wrong.

~~ _*Harsh._ ~~

~~_***Rude.** _ ~~

_***Blunt, much?**_

Ahhhh!

Hellene seemed to consider these offered points, continuing to stroke her imaginary beard--you could almost picture how glorious it would be if it truly existed. Wait, what? "Regarding your parents' controlling tendencies over your friendships, just tell them that you're hanging out with me. I'm down to be your alibi, and I can hang out with you anytime you think they're getting suspicious. This'll allow you to explore your apparent knowledge of these people, and I'll be there as a buffer if you need it."

_'Oh, sweet naive Hellene... If only you knew what I've truly been through, you'd know that their 'controlling tendencies' over my social life is the least of my worries...'_

"But making friends requires effort~....!" You whined petulantly instead of sharing your true thoughts, staring up at the ceiling with a pout. "Why u do dis to me Play-Bae...? You know I'm the most awkward girl alive... I suck at making friends my age. I only seem to be good with little kids, despite how creepy that sounds. Whatever higher power that exists knows that you only managed it because you're absolutely insane."

"Everyone is insane hon, it's all a matter of _how_ they show it, and _how much_ they show it." Well, she had a point. Hellene proceeded to take off one of her silver rings, and grasped your hand, gently sliding it onto one of your unoccupied fingers. What purpose this served, only she knew. "There we go. Rock that accessory!"

"With dark sweatpants and a gray sweater...?" You murmured in confusion, but nonetheless accepted the ring on your finger. If you had any material things to share, you probably would have given her some things too. "Whatever... Oh, so hey, I have a favor to ask you. Ya think you can drive me down to Ebott Junior High and then the Library so I can check on my little brothers? That Second Joker has gotten me paranoid as _fuck._ I'll cook you a whole meal plus a dessert if you do." Food bribes worked best on Hellene. The woman made delicious alcoholic drinks, but she could set a cup of water on fire.

No, seriously. You've seen it happen.

The girl defied logic on a daily basis and her cooking skills were no exception.

"Mmm... Make it large enough for there to be leftovers and you have a deal!" She was also quite the haggler when it came to food. Fortunately, for you, she set a low price.

"Done and done. C'mon, I'd like to check on 'em as soon as possible." You groaned, willing yourself to stand. You'd like to think you used the Force to do it. "On the way, you can tell me of your latest escapades around town."

"Don't ya mean  _sex_ -capades?"

A sudden (and probably ugly) snort of amusement left you at the less than innocent pun. "Leave the joking around to me, will ya?"

"Gasp!" Did she really just say the word gasp out loud? "Miss Olivia Misteria actually  _admits_ to having a sense of humor? So that's what enjoyment looks like on that pretty marble-like face, I love that emotion!"

"I prefer to leave emotion out of it."

"Out of what, bae? Life?" Hellene giggled as she swiped her keys from her purse, throwing an arm over your shoulder and pulling you close as she led you outside. "Kinda impossible you know."

"Lasted this long, haven't I?"

"Fair enough. Maybe that's what's going to change?"

" _God,_ I hope not."

* * *

 It took the better part of the remaining daylight that the day had left but you had managed to catch sight of the youngest of the Ebott family, Thomas, hanging around the middle school due to the summer program they always had. It warmed your cool features, seeing his bright smile and strong form sprinting across the open grassy fields on EMS's property playing football. His skin was maybe a shade or two lighter than yours, and his hair was as black as night. He was growing into a handsome young man already even though he was barely before the age of thirteen; even that awkward stage of puberty making his proportions a little more muscular yet lanky at the same time didn't take away from his boyish charm. He was probably quite the lady killer.

You wondered as to what his morals were like, if he was anything like his father.

You truly hoped not.

"Love, as much as I adore hanging around you and tip-toeing around the city all ninja-like, it's gettin' late; I have to head back to the Crimson Moon and make sure the transition from classy café to bangin' bar goes smoothly. I'm the store owner and manager for a reason y'know." Hellene whistled as you both calmly walked away from the entrance of Ebott Library, gazes covertly following the back of a dark-haired, lightly tanned, lanky male form scuttling energetically along towards the parking lot. After the visit to the school, you had directed Hellene to the place you would often take Lucas when you both were bored, the Library. It remained his favorite place to hang around even now. Your eye softened a bit as you watched the painfully familiar jog of your brother, the sight of his Harry Potter glasses bobbing up and down on his nose easy to spot even from where you stood; he must have been excited about something... Maybe he got accepted into University?

_'Oh Lucas... I wish I could share your happy moments with you.'_

"That's alright... Thanks for bringing me here and taking me to the Junior High, I appreciate it. I guess the divination passed like I had suspected, they're completely fine. Still... Damn. Thomas will be a freshman in High School, and Lucas will be a Freshman in _College_ now... I feel old."

"Bitch please, you think  _you_ feel old? I'm only twenty-five; I shouldn't be feeling this way!" She whined as you sat on a stone bench, lightly running a hand through your hair in a covetous manner. "But speaking of college... It's going to start in a week or so. You taking classes?"

"Mm? Oh yeah. Usual stuff; dance, arts and crafts... Though I have to take an 'intellectual' class. Can't have my brain turning to mush." More like Ravenna demands it of you. "Why?"

"Oh! I'm gonna be finishing up my Master's in Psychology this year! I was asking so we could hang on the days we both have classes; I'm totally down to fu- I mean, see you more often any day." You snickered at her completely deliberate slip-up as she flashed you an innocent look.

The new voices in your head snorted with hilarity.

"Sure thing Lene--We're probably gonna break some minds, just to let you know, since I'm known around campus as the Absolute Loner. Don't really care though; You're the only person I'd want to be around anyway."

"Lies and Slander; You'd know you'd be around your brothers all the time if you could. And you'd forget all about me."

"Love, there's no way that could happen. You're impossible to forget."

"Damn straight I am." She huffed as you rolled your eye good-naturedly, her own gaze narrowing in slight confusion. "Mind reminding me why you never just go up to your brothers and talk to them again?"

The practiced excuse fell from your lips automatically, your mouth dry as if the half-lie was made of sawdust. "Compared to Leon, I'm one hell of a failure, and Ravenna didn't want my 'detestable presence' to be a bad influence on them. So, I'm supposed to stay away."

"Tch. Hypocritical bitch. I'll show her 'detestable'." The spunky female scoffed as she spun her keys around her pointer finger. "Only thing she could influence 'em to do is how to be fake sluts."

"Your language is appalling." You hummed blandly in response, neither agreeing nor disagreeing and snickered as you gained a flick on the forehead in return. "I guess I'll send ya a copy of my schedule soon then. Go on and go handle your swanky bar babe; I can walk home."

"Alrighty Livvy, I'll be seeing ya." She leaned down to give you a tight hug (which you returned awkwardly), before walking back towards the parking lot as she shot finger guns at you. "Stay sharp while passing alleyways, give a few good punches for me if someone is messing with you, and look both ways before crossing a street."

"I told you that asshat ran a red light!" She cackled deviously in response as she shot you a wink before flouncing away in her usual confident manner. You watched her go with a fond look for a minute or two, before looking up at the sky.

The sun  _was_ halfway down the horizon... After all the excitement of this day, you were pretty ready to just pass out. You hefted yourself up with a sigh, slinging your bag across your shoulder and starting to make your trek home; By the time you'd make it back, it would be dark.

Your mind wandered back to your brothers of its own accord.

It had been officially three years since you had been tossed out of the manor you grew up in and in those three years you've had little contact with your younger brothers. You had virtually none with your elder brother, Leon, since you were fifteen-- But that was of his own volition, not yours. It still hurt a bit when you thought about it, but you were used to the silence from his end. If he didn't want to socialize with you, then fine. You would ignore the sting from losing the bond you had with him; you  _would, damn it._ He could take care of himself so you weren't going to spare energy worrying about him. Not when he obviously wasn't going to use a single thought about you.

You idly wondered if he maintained good relations with your younger siblings. Probably.

You've always been the odd one out anyway.

Lucas was just a sweetheart, plain and simple. Kind, polite, a total nerd, yet had that oddly attractive quality about him. He was just as awkward as you were when it came to social situations from what you remember, and usually disliked all the natural positive attention he got. He made socially awkward look good though. And his character was something you took pride in, considering that you instilled it and watched it come to fruition when you were still 'Big Sis'. He could be blunt, yet tactful; he was truthful to himself and to those around him, even if it was purely to his detriment.

He was Honesty. He was your Three of Diamonds.

Thomas, oh boy, Thomas was just a gigantic ball of energetic sunshine. You hadn't had true contact since he was ten; you had worried for his constitution once you had to shut yourself away, but it was needless. He endured, kept going, kept his mind bright and his body strong. He used this strength to benefit others, always helping out, always  _giving_ because he knew he had plenty to spare. You were proud of that, proud of  _him,_ but you were also glad that he knew of his limits and his boundaries as to where he could give no more until he was ready to do the same thing over again. He'd always been a healthy little boy; sturdy, stable, and enthusiastic.

He was Health. He was your Three of Spades.

If it wasn't obvious by this point, you adored your little siblings with all your heart. They were such sweet affectionate boys, and you'd give anything and everything to make sure they had everything they needed and wanted.

That's why you stayed away.

~~_***Want them...** _ ~~

~~_*Need them..._ ~~

** _*Crave them..._ **

~~~~~~~~Your eye shut sullenly as nearby streetlights flickered on with the oncoming evening.

'Can't have them...'

 

Huh...

 

Was it possible to feel despair that wasn't truly yours...?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this took folks! The reason for that is...
> 
> I made an AU! I call it Weavertale, and I'm really liking the concept so far. It's still in the stages of Infancy, but I've gotten as far as doing Character bios and drawing the concept art for the characters! 
> 
> Check it out and ask questions, I'll love it if you do~!!
> 
> Linky-link~~~> [My AU: Weavertale!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/weavertale) 


	4. The Scornful Queen of Diamonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter the Harlot of the De-, I mean, Zirconia Boudreaux-Ebott.
> 
> Your Mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, would you look at that? I finally managed to post something after a several month long WB.
> 
>  
> 
> _Final. Fucking. Ly._

It had been a maximum of two days since the car incident, and you had pretty much already pushed it out of your mind.

Yeah yeah, as weird as that sounded, you weren't going to waste time worrying about it since you were sure that your brothers were safe. You've had much closer calls, so there was no need for the event to take you out of your character.

At this moment, however, you wanted nothing more than to flip your desk and laptop out the balcony window.

While screeching.

Shrilly.

In someone's ear.

Why would these actions be necessary, you ask? Oh, for no very important reason in particular.

You had only just got shafted about the classes you had been on the wait list for was all. All of your art, music, and dancing classes you had gotten into just fine (which was what you truly cared about), but the single medical class you had signed up for in order to keep a certain someone satisfied? It hadn't gone through due to some bullshit glitch in the system.

Apparently, there was a mix-up with the numbers and you were so far down on the wait list now that there was no way you'd be added to that particular class unless the college continued to add students halfway through the semester.

 _'Really, Life? Really? Isn't my parents' disdain for me enough without yours adding on to it? Must you tell me constantly to go fuck myself?'_ You griped mentally, pressing the butt of your palm against your one functioning eye as you thought of the unnecessary drama that the harpy that was your mother was definitely going to start if you didn't find something to replace it soon.

~~_***It's like Fate has it out for our asses in every single one of our lives. Can't we catch a fucking break?** _ ~~

~~ _*Perhaps it is to make us better appreciate what good things we have?_ ~~

**~~_*You show me what 'good' things we have, and I'll show you a damned tragedy just begging to happen._ ~~ **

**_*A fair statement._ **

~~ _*Ah... I wish I could argue against such logic, but I cannot..._ ~~

~~~~~~~~Oh, right. The new additions to your mental processing. You know, just like with your brush with Death (even now you dully wondered when you'd get to dance with him again), you simply accepted your new mental roommates with a mere shrug of your shoulders. It was probably just a new way your mind created to help you cope with things; Hence why the voices called themselves Olivia as well. And they didn't interact with you too much anyway, mostly bantered back and forth between themselves. You weren't going to question it if your mind was trying to keep itself from shattering; You needed all the help you could get in that regard.

Plus, they were kinda entertaining.

But you couldn't focus on their exchange now; you had to find something to replace that medical course and fast.

Getting back on your laptop, you began to scroll through the roster of classes, your face becoming more and more sullen as you spied just how fucked you were. "Full, full, long ass wait-list, full, not 'intellectual' enough, full, full, full...." Your eye began to twitch as the bright red letters spelling out 'CLOSED' over many of the science and literature classes offered by the University.  _"Fuck. My. Liiiiiife."_

You were so locked in a frustrated one-sided glare off with the screen that you jumped when your phone unexpectedly went off.

Having to grab the edge of the table hard so you wouldn't go tumbling off your chair, a loud groan of discontent left you as your second of frantic scrambling caused your pack of cards to go tumbling to the floor--and like two days ago, a single card somehow escaped the rubber band binding the cards together and wheeled towards the bed before it fell face down.

Nope nope nope. You were  _not_ picking that up after last time, hell no. The odds were never in your favor.

Despite your screaming instincts to pick it up and see what you should be prepared for, you instead sat up and snatched the phone furiously buzzing against the wood of your desk and answered it without actually looking at the caller ID. Not exactly the smartest decision seeing as you only had three contacts and two of those three weren't very good ones...

"Hello?" You managed to gripe out of gritted teeth.

"Oliviaaaaa~" You relaxed as the sing-songy, feminine modulated tone that could only belong to Hellene, and stood up from your chair to stretch with a sigh.

"Yes, love?"

"Ooo, I know that tone. What's the asshole's name that messed with your day, and where do they sleep at night?" A humorless chuckle slipped past your lips as you went to the two tanks that held your more spooky babies-- a sweet Brazilian Blue Tarantula named Vide and a cuddly baby albino Rainbow Boa you named Anguis; two of the three pets you had in the house. Your babies watched you curiously through the glass, although you noticed Anguis was giving you a bit of an uppity glare at the moment. Poor thing was probably hungry... It was probably time to feed each one of your babies again, actually.

"Unless you want to try getting vengeance on the entire school system, I suggest you don't do whatever it is you're thinking."

"Nani? Why would I need ta-" You quickly explained the situation, placing the phone on speaker and putting it down on the desk as you looked around your room. Damn, you really needed to clean up... And wash some of your clothes. You'd probably feel a bit better if you did.

With that thought in mind, you grabbed your laundry hamper and began filling it up with the clothes littering the ground as Hellene promptly went off.

"EN EL NOMBRE DE TODO LO QUE ES SANTO SON ESTOS BASTIDORES IDIOTICOS HACIENDO EN ESA OFICINA? ¿ESTÁN TRATANDO DE HACER DE SU VIDA UN INFIERNO VIVIENTE? ¡LA PUTA QUE USE LA PIEL DE SU MADRE VA A LANZAR UN AJUSTE!" You had to hold back a loud snicker as Hellene's Spanish blood revealed itself-- Considering how pale she was, she could easily pass for white but if you got her angry enough (laughably easy to do, by the way), what you had affectionately dubbed the 'Spanish Fury' would be unleashed.

You respected how Hellene could give a smackdown both physically and verbally.

"So yeah, you can obviously see my problem here." You replied, a chuckle in your voice as you grabbed a smaller basket in order to hold what clothes were left on your floor. If only nihilism didn't prevent you from cleaning up your abode on a regular basis. The only reason it was getting done now was out of nervous energy. "If I don't find something 'intellectual' to replace it soon, I'm gonna get so much shit from Mother."

"Why don't you just take some class you've already taken?" 

"One- I would get super bored, Two- Mother would notice since she asks what classes I take after I used that trick once," You replied and balanced your phone on your shoulder so you could pick up the baskets and take them to the laundry room, "and Three- Even if I wanted to and could, those classes have been filled to the brim already. There's no point." You explained, sighing softly as you flicked on the lights of the room and started to load some of the clothes into the washing machine. "I have nine credits already set up, so now I need three more."

It was at that moment you began to thank any and all deities that existed for giving you the blessing that was Hellene.

"Well... What if I told you I heard of a class that fulfills the 'intellectual' part?"

"...I'd tell you to keep talking."

"Okay, so!" You heard Hellene become hyped as you set the machine to start and put the now not bursting clothes basket in the corner. "There's a new class being offered at the college that might help you out!"

"Eh? Really? What you mean?"

"You mean you haven't heard of it?! How?!? The whole school has been talking about it!"

"May I remind you that I am a shut-in?"

"Yeah, but if you're not at home, you're usually at the college so-"

"Woman, I obviously don't know what's up. Time is of the essence, spill."

"Alright alright, Hakuna your Tatas dude." You rolled your eye as you exited the room to the hallway, spying your other little baby moving towards you-- Faeles, a small and sweet ragdoll kitten that had the misfortune of an accident that had caused paralysis in her hind legs. Not that it stopped her mobility by any means; she could climb better than most cats to be fairly honest and you weren't about to restrict her freedom by strapping her lower half into a wheeled harness, which would bar her from climbing her carpeted tree and the stairs.

Although you totally planned on saving enough money for acupuncture therapy. You heard that could be of help for her paralysis.

She mewled pleasantly upon seeing you, doing her cute little shimmy in your direction and you stayed still upon principal as she quickly clambered up your clothes and took her rightful place sprawled upon your shoulders after you removed your phone--It was her favorite spot, and you weren't about to deprive her of it. You gave her a quick scratch behind the ears as Hellene chattered on.

"So, apparently because of Monsters getting their degrees accredited and everything, the University decided to allow Monsters to apply for jobs there and guess what? The Board of Education realized that Monsters know a lot more in comparison to us (albeit begrudgingly) and decided it was a good idea to learn from them. This year is going to be the first year a Monster teaches a class at the College!" Your eye went wide at this info, your jaw actually dropping in shock.

"Holy shit."

"I know, right! Isn't that amazing?!"

"That's the best news I've heard in a long time, oh my fuck." You blinked, having stopped in your stride in surprise before starting back up, clicking your teeth. "You know the name? What are they teaching?"

"Some dude named Serif I think. Not sure if that is a first or last name. And he's teaching something called... Animology? It's something that only Monsters are experts at-"

"Souls... Holy shit, it's a class studying  _Souls._ "

"...What? Que? How do yo-"

" _Anim-_ is short for  _Anima,_ which is the Latin word for Soul." The explanation came as you swept into your room, looking for your next task. You guess you could pick up all of the crumpled up pieces of paper littering the floor due to your inability to get a proper drawing down without fucking up and having to start over.

"Nerd."

"Says the Psychology major." You reply, carefully kneeling down to pick up the small trashcan and then scoop up the paper balls on the floor in a ginger manner so you didn't knock the Queen of the House off her perch.

"I didn't say it was a bad thing." You released a soft snort in response as she continued. "Not many humans know about the nature of Souls--Maybe it'd be a good thing to learn about? You might be one of the first humans to truly understand it."

"And the name of it sounds smart enough to pacify the Witch too." You hummed in agreement, placing your phone in your pocket before jogging slowly down the stairs to your kitchen to dump all of the paper balls into the much larger trashcan hidden underneath the island. A small frown overturned your lips at the sight of piling plastic 'tv dinner' containers in the trash and sighed deeply, realizing you'd have to make a trip down to town to properly dispose of the trash bags that were building up at the back of your house again.

You swear you loved living away from the city, but the distance could be such a hassle sometimes.

"Yeah!"

"How many credits is it worth?"

"Ah... Yeah, that's the fucked up part. Since it's being offered so late, and they aren't sure if a lot of students would take the class  _anyway,_ it's only worth two credits. They said that if it becomes popular they'll add more for it..."

"They totally did that on purpose."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too." You both released a world-weary sigh in near unison.

"Well then, that means I need one more class to fill my mandatory twelve credits needed in order to be a full-time student..."

"Just pick another art class hon. Heaven knows you'd be able to handle it just fine. Woodworking and Melding is a class often left with open seats if you're interested."

"True... I've never really tried it before either- Hey wait, doesn't your mother's brother teach that class?"

"......."

_"Hellene."_

"Maaaaaaybe...?" The new voices in your head seemed to be amused at this; not talking, just listening intently... Not that such a thing made much sense.

As far as you were concerned though, it didn't matter.

"...You're trying to make sure someone you can trust can keep an eye on me, aren't you?" The format of the sentence was a question, but you said it as if it was a statement. Cause you already knew the answer.

Her silence pretty much confirmed it.

"You're so lucky I love you." You said flatly, making a mental note to sign up for the class before the end of today.

"I know, I love you too~~. Oh hey, when you gonna bring the goods?"

"I'm planning to go food shopping soon, chill your stomach wench."

"How can I; your food is so good! Oh, Oh! You'll make a dessert right? Can it be those cranberry tarts with chocolate drizzling you're an absolute god at making? Pretty please~?!"

"Mm, I dunnoooo..." You hummed in a semi-teasing tone. "It's so much work..."

"Aww, c'mon! Oh wait, hang on-" Raising a brow, you waited as you heard rustling on the other end of the line before a beep, signaling that she had switched onto an oncoming call. You shrugged, absent-mindedly reaching up to scratch under Faeles' chin as you headed towards the stairs.

And then you heard it.

_The sound of gravel being crunched by tires at the front of the house._

_Only_ three  _people knew where your house was, and you just got off the phone with one of them._

Your eye widened in horror, and upon scrambling to the window above your sad looking couch that looked over the front of your 'yard' and peeking inconspicuously through the blinds, you watched as a silver Aston Martin One-77 pulled up in your miserable excuse of a driveway.

Your blood ran cold.

_Mother._

~~ _*...Oh no._ ~~

** _*Well, this will be rather annoying._ **

~~**_*...What? Why are y'all so worried? Mother has always been a cowardly b-_**~~

You began booking it up the stairs as you saw the car's driver side door open, screeching internally as you tried not to trip over the carpeted steps leading to the second floor. She had keys to your front door, due to her demands, so she literally could just walk in at any moment on you. If you weren't in immediate sight when she came in, then maybe she'd just go away. Ignoring her would sometimes work.

...But sometimes, it wouldn't.

It seemed to be it would be a latter kind of day as you heard the muffled sound of the car door being slammed shut and a shrill voice screaming out your name. It's a sound that fills you with foreboding. It meant you would have to hide if you didn't want to face her, which you certainly did  _not._

Nearly toppling over the top step at hearing the distressing sound of high heels stomping up your stone porch, you finally remembered that you had a fucking _pet_ on your shoulder, thanks to Faeles yowling angrily in your ear because of all the bouncing your movements were causing her little body to do. This caused your anxiety to skyrocket and made you freeze.

Mother  _hated_ cats. You had no idea why, but she utterly despised them. Actually, that could be said for most living things, including people. You were ninety-nine percent sure she just had an immense disdain for anything she perceived was lesser than her. Again, pretty much everything; You, included. 

You had managed to keep her hidden from the devil woman so far, but if she saw the feline when she came in...

The sound of keys jingling in a lock snapped you out of your muscle deadlock, and you speedily rounded the corner of the wall and out of sight just as you heard the door open.

"OLIVIAAAAA! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU WASTE OF SPACE?!"

 _Nope nope nope-!_ With the silence that could only come from years of practice, you bounded into your room with urgency in your wild search for someplace to hide.

'...Oh god, I didn't know that cleaning my room today would be to my detriment-!' Without your usual landfill of clothes littering the floor, you were out of a hiding spot. Hiding in the closet or under the bed was out of the question-- It was a move that a five-year-old child could anticipate.

You could hear your mother searching the first floor for you, her frustrated shrieking of your name as she went in and out of rooms. That gave you a bit of time, but not much since you were sure she could hear the washing machine on. She'd be upstairs any minute now.

 _'Shit what do I do, what do I do...?!'_ You began to panic as your searching became even more frantic.

And then your eye landed on the open doors to the balcony.

...Or rather, the rope you could see tied to one of the stone pillars out there.

Your makeshift swing.

_'...Drastic times call for drastic measures.'_

**_*Surely, you jest-!_ **

~~_*...She's not really gonna-_ ~~

**~~_*There is no way the bitch is_ that _scary-!_~~ **

Ignoring the voices, you began your run to your chance of freedom-

But that card you had left on the floor earlier? You ended up stepping on it and due to the slippery combination of plastic on carpet, slipped and toppled to the ground. Face-first.  _Hard._

Thank the heavens for quick reflexes... Oh, you certainly couldn't save yourself, but your dear little kitten had pitched forward off your shoulder due to your fall and you had just barely managed to stop her tumble by catching her mere inches from the floor.

_THUD-UMP!!_

_........._

You were an eyelash's width away from spewing several loud expletives in response to the pain.

Ow. Just. _Ow._

Allowing yourself to lay there and wallow in misery, you took a deep inhale through your nose; the sound itself just sounding ultimately done with life.

An accurate description of you, really.

 ~~~~"I swear Jashin is in charge of my shit luck-!" You hissed under your breath, rubbing your sore chin while cupping a fairly pissed Faeles in your other hand. The card left on the floor tauntingly floated down within your line of sight for you to see the intricate design of the Queen of Diamonds.

_Vanity._

'Of course, the  _one_ _time_  I decide not to listen to the cards _fucks me over-_ '

"OLIVI _AAAA!_  I HEARD THAT AND I _KNOW_ YOU'RE HERE, YOU _BETTER_ BE IN YOUR ROOM!"  _Shit._

You stiffened as you heard the sound of her heels quickly shift course towards the stairs; your panic grew as you locked gazes with your kitten.

Then you glanced towards your desk.

"...Okay sweetie- I know you're not going to like this but if you don't want to end up tossed out into the forest, you're just going to need to bear with it." You hurriedly explained, hopping up and opening a drawer as silently as you could before dumping Fae inside and closing it shut. Saying a quick mental prayer for the kitty still loving you afterward, you nearly had a heart attack when you realized the tanks holding Vide and Anguis were in  _full fucking view of the door._

 _If Ravenna hated cats, she was going to_ explode _if she saw a tarantula and a snake!!!_

 _'MY BABIES!'_ You squeaked as you rushed to snatch up the large blanket that was splayed haphazardly over the floor, your heart beating in time with the pounding of Mother's heels coming up the steps. Your lovelies' curious gazes were successfully hidden as you covered both their tanks and with an even stronger mental prayer that the witch didn't try to look underneath the sheet, you scooped up the evil card and placed it onto your desk. You hopped into your chair and threw open your laptop hurriedly as the sound of thundering heels reached the top step, using your hair as cover while you tried to school your face into something less incriminating.

Just as you managed to force the grimace on your face into a straight line, your bedroom door flies open and in struts your mother. She flipped on the singular light switch causing you to hiss lowly under your breath and blink a bit due to the sudden light as you glanced her way through your hair involuntarily.

At one point in time in your youth, you would have certainly called your Mother, Zirconia, beautiful. Honestly, she was still aesthetically attractive; it was her abhorrent personality that ruined it. Her name fit her quite well, actually. You had gotten your blue eye color and formerly black hair from her. She had that exotic tanned skin, the kind that was just on the verge of being called dark but could pass for Caucasian as well; Your skin color was fairly darker, closer to your father's.

Out of the two, it was Mother that visited you most often, and Father often didn't give a damn about what you were doing unless you were in his line of sight.

You had no idea if you'd consider it a curse or a blessing.

Zirconia was much skinnier compared to you, and could honestly pass for a model which she'd often flaunt to gain an advantageous position or just put other females around her down. She was perhaps less than an inch taller than you but due to her superiority complex and wish to always have an advantage over others, she always had heels that boosted her height by at least four inches more on. In fact, it had been literal years since the last time you _hadn't_ seen her dressed to the nines. 

She often said it was due to her work-- Being the creator and designer of an entire fashion line, such an excuse would make sense, but you had the sense that she did it because she knew you often were either half-naked and burrito-ed up in a blanket or wearing a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and bags under your eye.

Aka: She would always look better than you and hold that knowledge over your head whenever she could. Which was always.

_The Queen of Diamonds. Vanity._

~~_***...The fuck is that neon pink disaster of a dress she has on? It's so tight and short on her, it seems more like the top of a wetsuit! She looks like a clown with that makeup too.** _ ~~

~~_*D-Dear me, that perfume is strong... Practically_ _suffocating. And how does she walk in those stilts called heels? We're in the middle of a forest!_~~

_***And what is with that gaudy-ass jewelry? Was she TRYING to go for a look that screamed 'This is my way of saying I'm better than you, but truly I am the lowest scum of the earth'?** _

~~~~~~~~~~~~You barely managed to mask your oncoming snicker as a cough before turning in your chair to confront the usual contrariant expression on the woman's face with your emotionless one.

'And so begins my personal hell for the day.'

"Mother." You greeted with a monotone and a small nod of acknowledgment.

She scowls at you in return.

"Olivia." Is the cold reply as she glances at the laptop in front of you. "I've been screaming your name ever since I walked through the door. It's polite to answer your mother when she's calling for you."

"I didn't hear you."

"How could you  _not_ have heard me?"

With quick thinking, you picked up the cord of the earbuds attached and held it up for her to see, still facing your screen. "Music."

Her sharp eyes narrowed at your hand, her scowl deepening. "I did not see those in your ears."

"That is because my hair hides my ears, Mother." You reply, managing to smother the smirk threatening to form on your face at a sound that sounded suspiciously like teeth being ground together.

She honestly should be smarter than that.

"...Are you  _writing_ again?"

She spat out the word as if the mere word forming on her tongue was the absolute foulest thing she had to do. To her, you guess it is because it ultimately satisfied you in some shape or form.

She hated that.

"At the moment, no. I'm confirming my classes for the school year." You murmur blankly in return. Her eyes flash with an arrogant triumph, causing you to continue in spite of yourself. "I've made more than enough headway in my writing to push it to the side for now."

That was a huge lie, so huge you have no idea how it managed to escape your trachea and tongue, but it was worth it to see her haughty manner turn into something closer to the description of someone who swallowed a lemon.

"Haven't I told you a million times already to stop that nonsense?"

"You have," You began, nudging a stray hair in your face behind your ear, "But I cannot cease my writing, due to the fact that it brings in money that I need to survive."

More like _exist._

"Despite the fact that I told you to get a  _real_ job?"

"Getting a job in the city increases the chances of news reporters and paparazzi finding me, which in turn increases the chance of you and Father getting called out on saying I was far away at some private school when I was actually in the city this whole time." You returned, completely used to this song and dance. Every time she would come over, she'd harp on you about 'finding a real job' and stop trying to make money off 'your silly fantasies' and despite getting the same answer every time (aka highlighting her fear of you being found out as her daughter and being seen as a liar by the whole damn region) and dropping it, the next time she returned she'd say the same thing.

She was like a broken record at this point, forcing you to sing the same lines and dance the same few moves over and over again.

You were absolutely sure she was just doing this so she could always have something to hiss about whenever she showed up.

"Well now sweetheart," She cooed mockingly in that honeyed voice that was venom in disguise, "If you were smart enough to go to such a school, we wouldn't be in such a pickle now would we~?" Your fingers twitch at the barb at your intelligence (one of the very few things you had pride for), but let it go despite the voices in your head growling with irritation. Simply taking the insults was much easier than arguing, which could lead to shouting matches and... other undesirable results.

"Whatever you say, Mother." Was your impassioned response, going with the less stressful of the two options by verbally disregarding her. You believe you saw an upper eyelid of hers spasm in irritation so you used the physical cue to bring up a new topic before she could start on her rant. "Did you have a specific reason for coming today?"

The witch seemed to stop herself before she went on a tangent and smiled at you; although you were aware it didn't reach her eyes. Of course. You hadn't seen such a thing in years. 

"Just being a good mother and wondering what classes you have lined up for this semester~" You would have scoffed if it wasn't for the fact that such a thing would have most likely garnered you a smack across the face. "Nonsensical art classes again, I assume?"

"You would be correct. But of course, I have the one 'intellectual' class you demand of me, the usual science class of course-"

"Good. We wouldn't want that brain of yours to rot completely in your skull, as small as it may be." She was doing it again. Trying to bait you into an argument. Trying to make you snap. Just to cause you more trouble or hold your brothers' wellbeings over your head once again and watch you hold yourself back with defeat and fury in your eyes.

But you refused.

You wouldn't let her have that satisfaction.

"The class is being newly offered at the college, and as I am running out of options due to my already taken many of the classes offered, I quickly signed up for it." You continued on, once again ignoring her words as you pulled up the school's registry and began typing in the numbers to add in the extra two classes. You could almost hear her seething where she stood at your refusal to take the bait. Honestly, could she be any more like a Youtube commentor? "Due to its newness, it is being offered for lower units until the subject is properly settled into an actual program so I had to take another class in order to make up for the deficit. So as of now, I now have five classes for the semester, six if you count my TA position in the bundled Freehand and Life Drawing class." You finished, feeling a fair amount of satisfaction as the classes managed to go through and be added to your schedule.

"Wouldn't that place a strain on your budget honey~?" You nearly rolled your good eye in response to the newest honey-coated barb; she just didn't give. "You did say at the end of last semester you were in a bit of debt from your classes then~."

_~~***Careful that you don't sound like an actual concerned mother, ya haughty bitch.** ~~ _

"Already paid it off due to a surplus of commissions." You replied in your reserved tone, wanting to laugh so much at the moment. The mental voices were a riot. "And managed to save up enough money to pay the tuition fee no problem. My budget will be a bit tighter because of it, but it's nothing I can't handle."

You had the feeling she was grasping at straws at this point.

"Well, may I suggest that you cut down in the food department? Honestly, it's unbecoming of a woman to have so much... unproductive fat on her body." She snubbed as you groaned internally for her to just go away. "You certainly won't catch a man like that, Olivia dear."

"I have no interest in relationships."

"Now now love," Went her candied tone as she realized you answered a bit too quickly, "your life could honestly be better with a man. Someone to provide for you so you wouldn't have to jump so many hoops just to get by. You seem to prefer staying home anyway; I think being a housewife is the best bet you'd have for an okay life."

 _'Yeah, uh-huh, so you could then constantly hold it over my head that you're 'so much more successful than me', and how you don't have to depend on a man, and allow the possibility of you getting your claws in him and fucking him behind my back?_ ' You thought bitterly, actually sparing her a glance on this one. "Unlikely."

"Mm... Well, I suppose it can't be helped." Zirconia gave a faux sigh, steeling yourself at the sly smile she was sporting because you just knew you weren't going to like what she was about to say. Not that you liked anything she had to say. "For the best, I guess. A smart man wouldn't invest in...  _damaged_ goods, anyhow. You'd have to give a fair amount of favors to a man in order to trap him in a relationship, wouldn't you?"

_'If her death didn't pose a danger to my brother...'_

**_*Ugh. She kissed her mother with that mouth at one point?_ **

~~_*How utterly crude. I would never!_ ~~

**~~_*I need no fucking man, or_ anybody  _else to prove that I'm worth something, you sorry excuse for a-!_~~ **

_Scritch scritch scritch._

You stilled as the harpy glanced around, furrowing her brow.

"What was that?"

"...What was what?"

"That... There was a scratching noise."

"I didn't hear anything." You said coolly, making a subtle glance down towards the drawers of your desk that were furthest from the door and feeling a bead of sweat on your neck forming as you saw the lowest drawer you had placed Faeles in slowly begin to shift open.

_Oh no._

"...I swear I heard- There it is again...!" She hissed, her sharp eyes scanning the room as you slowly began to shift a foot to the drawer and nudge it shut as the scratching noise happened again, louder this time. Faeles was not pleased.

"What exactly are you hearing Mother?"

"Scratching! Something scratching!" You rose a brow as you swiveled around in your chair to finally face her, 'coincidentally' pressing one of the wheels against the drawer handle and blocking it from opening as she shifted a glare onto you. You hope she never finds out just how much her contempt filled eyes still frighten you even now. "Are _you_ making that noise?"

"I'm not even aware of what noise you're speaking of; I highly doubt it's me."

"Tch. I knew you were half-blind, but I didn't know you were half-deaf too." You lift a hand unknowingly to brush against the bangs hiding your defective eye before shrugging just a bit.

"It might just be some little creature that managed to get in the woodwork or something. It happens." You hum in a blazé manner, feeling the back of your neck start to become slick with sweat. "A light disadvantage that comes with living out here."

_Mrreoooow..._

 

 

...

 

 

"Ah. Must be a stray cat." You concluded, screaming internally at the muffled meow of a displeased Fae not being able to open the drawer. "It'll eventually get itself out. If not, I'll tap the walls with a broom to make it leave." You gave a shrug that you sincerely hoped was convincing.

Fortunately (and you mean  _very_ fortunate), the idea of some small creature lurking nearby seemed to conflict with whatever smarts she had and disgust her terribly. "Ugh, how revolting... Of course little abominations are drawn to this house, it smells awful due to this filth. If you put some of the effort you expended on your writing into cleaning this place, I'm certain it wouldn't be happening."

 _'It's not that bad...'_ You frown slightly, glancing around at your room. _'At least I cleaned up a bit...'_

"Well then, I'll be going-- I don't want some disease-ridden creature coming near me." You blinked in slight surprise as she turned to go, giving you one last sneer. "Such nastiness becomes you but if I'm going to continue to come here, I expect this house to be cleaner."

 _'That by no means motivates me to clean in any shape or form.'_ You thought as you watched her leave, slamming the door behind her.

You refused to move from your seat until you heard her go out the front door and start the car up, causing you to slump in the chair with a relieved sigh as the distant sounds of the car pulling out of your driveway reached your ears.

"Unholy Jashin, that was waaaaaay too close..." You whispered to yourself, taking a few seconds to calm your racing heart before rolling away from the desk and immediately opening the drawer Faeles was still throwing a fit in.

You winced slightly at what could only be described as a glare being pointed straight at you by a cat.

"Sorry love... I couldn't risk Zirconia finding you, she might've made me thrown you out into the forest." You cooed apologetically, pouting slightly at the little huff she shot you as you picked her up out of the wooden box and shut the drawer with your foot. "It was only out of love that I did it, I promise, please don't hate me~." Placing her gently in your lap, you blinked as you felt your phone buzz in your pocket, before cursing lowly as you realized you were still being placed on hold by Hellene. Pulling out in concern, you released a deep sigh of relief as you realized the call had dropped and it was Hellene texting you that she had to end it due to an extended talk with family.

Shooting back a quick text of how it was fine, you put the phone back in your pocket as you mused on what to do next now that you were sure that Ravenna wasn't going to be 'visiting' for a bit. She never visited more than once within a two week period.

 

........

 

You glanced down at Fae, who seemed to have quickly forgiven you and was purring in your lap.

_'Well, I do have to go get food. For both me and the babies.'_

"C'mon Fae-Fae. You can go shopping with Mama today."


	5. The Knight of Swords Wields Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were more skeleton monsters.
> 
> And they were _just_ as familiar as the last two.
> 
> What the ever loving hell?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter to thrown in a Tarot reference rather than just normal Playing Card meanings. Cool, huh?
> 
> Thank you all for being so patient with me and my updates. You have no idea just how much I appreciate it.
> 
> Special thanks to Named and ShadesofSilver as well, for helping me when I was officially stumped on how to write. You da best sweethearts.

It wasn't until you had switched out the clothes you had put in the washer into the dryer that you decided to gear up to go do your shopping.

Because you lived a good four or so miles from the city and had no car to your name despite having a license, grocery shopping could be a... tedious affair. Especially since you weren't an avid fan of it (understatement of the century). But you'd like to say you were a resourceful woman; after all, when you lived in self-imposed isolation (the harpy that was your mother could say what she wanted, it was  _your_ choice to live out here) you had to have some life hacks in order to preserve money and make existing a little easier.

Exhibit A-- Your wheelbarrow.

It was a way you could take out the trash you had to the city, as well as bring groceries back-- And of course, you had cleanser and water on you to clean the thing if you were planning to do those things on the same trip, such as today. Some may still call it unsanitary, but it was way better than having to carry all of the trash out to the city by hand and then carry the groceries home too. Besides, that's what the plastic bags were for. People probably thought you were a bum or something carrying a wheelbarrow around the city, but hey, that just meant you wouldn't attract too much attention.

And if people mistakenly threw spare change at you out of 'generosity', you could give it to someone who was truly in need.

Honestly though, how did people mistake you for a homeless person? Sure, you dressed in a less than flattering way, but you almost always had your headphones on. That should've made it kinda clear.

...Oh well.

You removed the sheet hiding your more spooky babies and lovingly smiled at them as their attention turned towards you. You knew they were safe now. "I'm gonna go get you two some food, okay? I'll be back soon. Vide, don't instigate anything; if I see you in threat posture when I get home I'll be very disappointed. And Anguis, don't try to eat her--You'll just end up hurting your head against the glass again." You (as well as the voices in your head) snickered softly at what you perceived to be deadpans pointed at you by your animals, adjusting the heating lamp above Anguis' tank before blowing them a kiss goodbye and hurrying downstairs to get your necessities finished.

With a quick text towards Hellene to let her know you were going to pick up stuff for her dinner.

"C'mon Fae-Fae, time to go and get all of us some food." You couldn't help but coo softly as you pulled on your sweatshirt, pulling up your hood as well to cover your hair and grabbing your wallet along with your medication. Faeles responded by climbing up your clothes until she reached your shoulder, at which point she decided to crawl into the pocket of space between your hood and your head. You gave a wry smirk as you felt her begin to nest in your hair, and popped in your earbuds as you walked out of your house and locked the door behind you. "Getting comfortable? That's good, cause this is going to take a while."

It took perhaps about five minutes to get the mini-mountain of filled trash bags up from the side of your house into the wheelbarrow, and then about a forty-five-minute walk down the path from your house down to the first little snippets of civilization nearest to the forest line. You didn't mind the walk despite the strain your burden was causing your arms; cause if anything you were getting your exercise in, which was a good thing at the very least. Sometimes a walk could get rid of a WB also.

 _Cake_ by Melanie Martinez began blasting in your ears as you passed through a few residential areas, following the familiar road in your head towards the commercial district. You could've just emptied your trash in some of the trash bins lingering out near the curb belonging to cookie-cutter houses but that was an action apparently worthy of many complaints from their owners, and you could understand why. Moving through the residential area to the commercial area was about a thirty-minute walk in itself, but it was around here you made your first stop.

After reaching a place with shops where a multitude of people were milling about, it wasn't long until you found an alleyway that had a dumpster resting in the shaded area. You got a few strange looks as you stopped there and promptly hauled all of your trash up and into the bin.

You dusted your hands off with a dull feeling of accomplishment, pulling out a few wipes to wipe down the yuckiness from your hands and around the inside of your trusty wheelbarrow. You nearly jumped as someone slapped their open palm against the body of it, which caused a loud metallic sound that scared the hell out of you. You just barely managed to hold back a squeak of shock and kept a somewhat calm look on your face.

Your new sources of entertainment, however...

~~_***SCREEEEEEAAAAMOTHERFUCKIN-!** _ ~~

_~~*HOLY FLUFFING DELTA-!~~ _

** _*OH MY STARS!_**

~~~~~~~~"Ey yo, asshole, get yer shit out of the walkway!" You flinched as a strident and stentorian voice grated against your ear and your eyes flickered up to see a group of four guys, jeering at you as they passed. Thankfully for you, your hoodie armor shrouded your face in shadow and made your full chest seem nonexistent, thus hiding your femininity. Faeles stirred at the back of your hood at the noise and you could hear the low, warning rumble coming from her small little body against your neck, even through your music blasting in your ears while they sauntered past your pushcart. You reached up and into your hood to give a calming pat to her head, lips pressed into a thin and irritated line as you glanced the way the rowdy group went, guffawing and snickering like the asshats they were.

 ~~ _ ***Fucking chicken shit fuckboys-**_~~  The more severe of the three voices in your head hissed angrily and you felt your lips move to furiously mouth those very words in unison without even realizing it until you finished. You blinked a bit, the hand you used to pet your kitten's head moving to your lips as you furrowed your brow in confusion.

You really needed to be more careful. If you had said that out loud and they had heard you, you would have been SOL if they decided to take the bait.

Honestly, you thought you had more self-control than that.

 _'.....When was the last time I had my cycle?'_ You wondered, and frowning when you couldn't exactly recall it happening any time recently. Yes, you were definitely blaming the slight lapse of your composure on hormones; what else could it have been.  _'Damn, I know what that means... It's probably soon. Another few things on my list to get at the store.'_ Rule number one for women: When you couldn't remember the last time you had your period, that usually meant that it was right around the corner.

You sighed softly at the bad news, knowing that you had to prepare for biological war now, and decided to just get on with your day. You finished sanitizing your wheelbarrow, nuzzling your face against Fae as she poked her head out to look around, and then headed the way the group of guys went. Kind of stupid, yes, but it was legit the quickest way to your destination. If you walked slow enough and kept an eye out, you wouldn't catch up to them.

This almost doubled the amount of time it would usually take to get to the Sunrise Outlet (which was the only place in the city that had a grocery store close enough to a pet store). This irritated you a little, cause more than anything you wanted to be back in your bed and surrounded by all your babies. But hey--You needed to be responsible for your dependents.

~~ _*Teehee~ That sounds like we're a mother or something._ ~~

** ~~_*They're our animal babies; of course we're a mother! Better than the bitch we got too, I'd wager._ ~~ **

** _*That is not much of a contest seeing as she is the Succubus of Satan._ **

~~**_*True dat._ ** ~~

You felt yourself snicker, mentally agreeing with the voices as you managed to make it to the parking lot of the grocery store. It was at this time you went into your routine; taking the wheelbarrow to the side of the long rectangle shaped building and parking it there, seeing as bringing it into the store would be a little..... Suspicious-looking. Security around here knew you by sight (seeing you had been coming to this outlet in order to satisfy your needs for around three years now), and gave you a greeting as you passed which you returned with a nod of acknowledgment while strolling towards the pet store first.

You knew from experience that people were less likely to steal pet items than groceries and since you couldn't exactly carry the bulk of things you needed from both stores at once and make it in one trip back to your carrier of choice, items for your furry and scaled babies were the first things to grab.

Entering the store, you promptly picked up a basket in which you could carry the items you came to get and strolled through the aisles with a hum on your lips. The store seemed rather vacant other than the obligatory staff members. You reached into your hood to pull Faeles onto your shoulder before throwing it back, to make it more obvious that you weren't a thief--Besides, you knew it was safe to show your face in such a familiar building and around some half-decent staff that knew you on sight as well.

You turned down your music as Fae purred and dug her claws into your sweater, which automatically brought a small smile on your face as you began to walk in the direction of the areas you needed to head towards. You deliberated for a small moment at what to get first before heading towards the cat and dog aisle first; it'd be better to get the creepy crawlies for your arachnid and dead rodent (you weren't a fan of them but you couldn't give Anguis food that was still alive; it felt cruel to you) for your reptile last. You bustled towards your objective with purpose, Fae looking around with familiarity in her gaze and meowing at nearby staff you passed. She had been in the pet store with you before.

You gave a small wave to one or two staff members you were quasi-friendly with, because you could get along with other animal lovers just fine, and turned into the aisle as you lifted your kitten off your shoulder to direct her attention to the types of foods made specifically for her species. "Look sweetie, here's all the food." You couldn't help but coo to your baby and moved to put her on the shelves holding the various cans of wet food. "You know the drill, honey. Pick which brand you want while I pick your dry food."

She locked eyes with you and then gave a small chuff of annoyance. You chuckled in response.

"Yes, I know you dislike it, but you can't just have wet food all the time. Well, I mean, you could but it's healthier to have both."

Fae mewled at you as she did her shimmying over the various food cans, seeming slightly preoccupied as she navigated from one brand to another. You were certain that anybody (that was not an avid animal lover themselves) who passed by and saw you carrying a full-blown conversation with a disabled feline would certainly call you crazy, but... You didn't really care. As far as you were concerned, animals had likes and opinions too.

And you knew what hers was about dry food.

"Yes, I know I'm slightly hypocritical, but that's not the point damn it. I am your mother and I shall make sure your diet is healthy, regardless of my own inadequacy to do the same for myself. "

A long and sassy meow was the reply.

"Don't you get saucy with me. Some people don't feed their cats wet food at all; just look for what you'd like most this time, okay?" You hummed, waving her off as you knelt down to survey the brands of dry food.

Another sound, closer to the imitation of a bird chittering.

"Yes yes, I'll make sure to look at the ingredients and get the organic stuff." You rolled your eye, flicking your gaze up to see the little head of your kitty-kat poking out from over the shelf to look down at you. One of her ears twitched and she huffed down at you inquisitively.

You couldn't help but smile.

"Alright you lil' diva, I'll get some kitty treats too." Her eyes brightened with triumph and she disappeared back towards the cans as you turned back to your task with a chuckle. "I swear I spoil that cat..."

You hummed to yourself as you searched the brands carefully, looking over the ingredient labels with a critical eye. You were contemplating whether to choose the Organix or the Natural Planet trademark when a song, a beloved one in a minor key at that, came through your earbuds.

You know that encompassing feeling of joy you get when you hear one of your favorite songs come on? Yeah. You felt it.

~~_***Oh my fuck I LOVE this song!!** _ ~~

_***Absolutely fabulous choice in music~!** _

~~_*EEEEEEEEEEE-_ ~~

Your eye closed momentarily as the melody washed over you, one of the happiest emotions you could feel filling your chest as you automatically turned up the volume. You began to sing to yourself softly and in time with the music, confident that you were alone. You bounced up from your crouch as you yanked up the bag of Organix and put it in your basket, murmuring out the lyrics.

_"He'd trade his guns for love... But he's caught in the crossfire~ And he keeps waking up, but it's not to the sound of birds..."_

Your sneakered feet began to move almost automatically against the tiles, doing a light twirl and smooth little slide down the aisle towards the canned food as if the tune was controlling your actions now. It was a siren's call to your Soul; a beguiling cry that compelled you to heed it, to move in some shape or form to the refrain even if you chose not to go all out now.

_"The tyranny, the violent streets, deprived of all that we're blessed with-"_

**_"And we can't get enough--_ no... _"_ **

You blinked as a voice, deep and gruff and husky, joined in with your singing; and your mouth closed with a sharp click as you heard it. You hadn't realized you were singing loud enough for others to hear. This voice was definitely sounded like a guy's, so it sure hadn't come from your head like the other two. Coming to a sudden halt to take a quick glance around, you saw that no one was in the aisle with  _you_  still...

But the voice had to come from _somewhere._

The voice ~~_**(*A damn sexy and delicious voice)**_~~ seemed disappointed that you went quiet, but continued the song either way as if hoping it could coax you to continue.

 **"heaven, if ya sent us down..."** You jumped a bit, a pleasant shiver racing down your spine at the sound of it. Whoever was serenading you definitely knew how to sing. You agreed with the voice in your head, as the voice was indeed an attractive one, but it also sounded... distantly familiar. As if you had heard it in a dream or a long time ago. It was that feeling that urged you to continue with the next verse.

_"S-So we could build a playground..."_

**"for th' sinners to play as saints-"**

_"You'd be so proud of what we made."_ You hadn't noticed you were walking slowly towards the end of the aisle until you were already in action and by that point, you couldn't be bothered to stop yourself.

~~ _*I... I know that voice..._ ~~

Your head turned from side to side as you tried to figure out which direction the intonation was coming from, which now had a pleased lilt that you had re-joined it, before realizing it had to be originating from the next aisle to your left. You heard the squeak of shoes against the tile floor, signaling that whoever the voice belonged to was following your movement step for step.

**_"i hope ya got some beds around..."_ **

_"Cause you're the only refuge now..."_

You had made it to the end of the aisle, huddling close to the corner and quieting down just a little as you came to a stop. The footsteps came to a halt at the same time. You hesitated to peek around the corner for a few seconds, a feeling in your gut telling you that whoever you saw around it would blow you away and you weren't sure if you could handle such a thing right now.

**"fer every mother-"**

_"Every child-"_

Curiosity was certainly your besetting sin...

**"every brother-"**

Ah, fuck it, YOLO.

 _**"That's caught in the crossfire~"** _ You turned the corner sharply as you sung the verse in unison with the voice, prepared to find anyone or anything--

But... There was no one.

~~_***...What the fuck-truck?** _ ~~

_***Such language.** _

~~_***Bite me.** _ ~~

You blinked rapidly, utterly confused as you stared down the several tiled pathways and even turned to glance down the aisle beside the one you had just exited from. No one was hanging around the corridor at all. You felt your face twist up in bewilderment, slowly reaching up to the button on your earbuds to pause your music so you could listen for anyone possibly nearby. But nope. Nothing.

~~_*B-But, I_ heard _him... He has to be here, he_ has _to be..._ ~~

".....I guess I really am going crazy..." You murmured to yourself, reaching up to pull your earbuds out of your ears so you could rub at them in disgruntlement. Damn things weren't doing their job. "Crazi _er_ , at least... Did I really just imagine another voice?"

Through your confusion, you were inclined to just shrug it off and begrudgingly forget the moment ever happened, but suddenly, the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end as you became aware of a large presence looming behind you.

Your eye widened as a deep male voice, the same one from before, reverberated abaft of you. "and here i was thinkin' i was just that good... ya just give a free concert to anyone ya meet, sweetheart?"

Now, let it be known you weren't a usually jumpy person... But if someone just suddenly appeared behind you out of nowhere without making any damn sound, 'Fight or Flight' instincts often kick in whether you liked it or not because freezing up in place could mean death. No rational thought went through your mind; your eye shut tightly as you spun on your heel with your hand up and ready to blindly swing at whoever was lurking behind you, a choked squeak escaped your throat.

Your swipe was halted by a hand, one so hard that you knew that bruises were inevitably going to be blossoming like flowers on your skin, catching your arm by the wrist mid-air. It was clasped firmly, causing you to gasp and try to yank your hand away but the grip kept your hand as stationary as possible.

"heh, easy there sweetheart. 's this how ya treat all yer fans?"

The owner of the hand sounded closer than he'd previously been, apparent by the soft breeze from his breath disturbing the strands of hair in front of your non-functional eye. He wasn't close enough that he was touching you, other than the tight grip upon your wrist, but there was the suggestion in the air that he could just _sliiiide_ forward an inch or two and-

He released your wrist and you quickly withdrew out of your panic of being touched, backing away to see the man that'd caught you so off guard.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry!" You managed to squeak out, horrified that you could have hurt someone due to your uncoordinated spazzing and shrunk into yourself out of habit. "I-I d-d-didn't mean t-to, I swear!" Was what you managed to stutter out while lifting your gaze to properly speak to whoever it was you would have struck. "I-I-I just got s-scared a-and-"

As you connected gazes with your would-have-been victim, your voice went silent like a candle being snuffed out.

It was... a skeleton.

Another god-damned skeleton, like the ones you met only days before. Only this one was much... Edgier looking.

~~ _*It's.... I-I-It's_ h-him _...!_ ~~

He even looked similar to the small energetic one from that day, though much taller and burlier looking--Instead of matching your height, he was definitely taller; having to at least reach six foot two, if not more. Black and red were his favorite colors if his clothes suggested anything; black sweatpants with two yellow vertical stripes on each leg, black and red sneakers and a red wife beater underneath a black hoodie with red trimming. Honest to god shackles were around his wrists and ankles with small broken chains dangling from them with a red dog-collar with golden spikes and a golden chain with a bone adornment of the same color hanging from his... cervical vertebrae. 

And, as if he didn't look edgy and thuggish enough, his teeth were sharp (one replaced with what looked like gold) and the eye-lights staring down at you from his eye-sockets were fucking red.

He could intimidate anyone with just a look.

~~_***WELL HELLOOOOOOO BIG, EDGY, AND SEXY~!!** _ ~~

_** *My my, Greetings Handsome~!**_ ~~_**  
** _ ~~

~~_*AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOHMYFUCKINGEBOTTSANSOMG_ SANS _I'MSOHAPPYTOACTUALLYSEEYOUAAAAAAAAAA-_ ~~

........Anyone but the voices in your head apparently. You? You were frozen where you stood out of pure shock.

Shock from how fucking _familiar_ this monster felt to you.

"what'sa matter? skeleton got yer tongue?" The smirk on the skeleton's face widened, the bony hand that had previously gripped your wrist sliding into the pocket of his hoodie to join the other. He had a sort of brightness behind his expression; his sockets creased slightly with some type of happiness, somehow lessening the danger he seemed to radiate. It seemed he was happy to see you- and no, not in that way. Get your minds out of the gutter.

But why was he happy to see you? As far as you know, you had never even seen this monster before...

Right?

_~~ *AAAAAAAAAAAAAAASANSI'MSOHAPPYTOSEEYOUBOYYOUHAVENOIDEA-! ~~ _

~~_***I'D HAVE NO PROBLEM IF YOU TOOK MY TONGUE HANDSOME~** _ ~~

_** *If I could purr right now, I would be doing so... ** _ ~~_**  
** _ ~~

Well, the voices didn't seem too concerned with your confusion. Still, that name one was calling him... You had heard it when the voices first appeared, didn't you? With that smaller and robust skeleton? It was very familiar... You wondered if it was actually his, or if it was just a figment of your imagination.

You blinked, recovering the mental fortitude to speak again.

"Oh, um... N-no. S-Sorry, but... What's y-your name?"

The happiness in his expression seemed to dim slightly, but he sounded the same when he responded. He even acted a bit flirtatious, throwing a wink your way. "call me red. why'd ya ask, sweetheart? lookin' for a hot date?"

Cue your mind joining the screaming fangirling in your head with a mental key-mashing of your own.

_Being flirted with by a hot monster; DOES NOT COMPUTE!_

“O-Oh n-n-no, I don’t... U-um, date much... O-Or at a-all really, I j-just...” Holy hell, what happened to your eloquence?! You’ve had perverts hitting on you before and it took nothing whatsoever to speak of your disinterest; so why was it so hard now? And the heat in your cheeks—Were you fucking blushing?!?! You never blushed!! “U-Um... You just l-look... very familiar... Y-Yet we’ve never met...?” You murmured, averting your gaze and ducking your head so you could hide your face behind the silver curtain your hair created.

...This socialization was going about as well as you expected. Not even a full minute before becoming cringe levels of awkward; That had to be a new record.

_Abort, **ABORT!**_

“.....I m-must be mistaken... I-I’m sorry I-I almost hit you, um... R-Red.” You mumbled, twiddling your fingers awkwardly before turning to leave. “P-Please excuse me...”

_***At least make an attempt of sorts to not seem like a douchebag human to him-** _

~~**_*NOOOO WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, CAN'T YOU SEE HE’S HOT ENOUGH TO BONE, GO BACK AND BAG HIM-_ ** ~~

~~ _*NO PLEASE I MISSED HIM I THOUGHT HE WAS GONE DON'T LEAVE RIGHT NOW, AT LEAST HAVE A CONVERSATION, GET HIS NUMBER, DO ANYTHING TO HAVE CONTINUOUS CONTACT, PLEASE-!_ ~~

‘Ugh... They’re going to give me a headache...’ You groaned to yourself, gripping your forehead.

A soft chuckle met your ears, along with the sound of footsteps chasing after you. "well, that _was_ a bit rude. here i am, enjoying a nice day, meeting a hot chick, and i nearly get my skull knocked off before she even sees my face; usually the punches come afterward, y'know? bein' a monster 'n all."

He laughed again and slipped around to stand in front of you in a movement so smooth you couldn't help but wonder what kind of dance style he had. You came to a complete halt once he blocked your path again, keeping your gaze down as you felt sweat start to bead on the nape of your neck. Oh boy, he was going to be persistent, wasn't he? And hot? What? What part of your baggy sweatshirt and pants armor combo was 'hot'? This guy needed his sockets checked...

"but hey, if ya wanna make it up to me, why don't we exchange numbers? i wouldn't mind seein' ya 'round. maybe we could grab a drink together if yer into that kinda thing."

Uh... Yeah, no way-

~~**_*DON'T BE A PUSSY HE'S LITERALLY OFFERING YOU A GOOD TIME AND HIS PHONE NUMBER, I WOULD HAVE JUMPED AT THIS CHANCE WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT, HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU ME-?!_ ** ~~

~~ _*I-I almost forgot how forward he could be! P-Please, he doesn't mean any harm by it, he's sweeter than he looks, accept his phone number at least-!!_ ~~

** _*I kindly implore you to try and get his number to get these two to shut up-!_ **

A soft groan left you as a headache indeed started to blossom at your temples, causing you to outwardly wince just a little before you glanced up at the monster blocking your path. You felt the need to ignore the voices and clarify yourself before there was a misunderstanding. "I-I like monsters... I-I was just scared and moved without thinking. To be honest if you were human, I probably would have tried to hit you again just for scaring me..." You murmured this last part to yourself, but upon seeing his smirk widen just a little more, you realized he had heard you. You cleared your throat awkwardly before digging your hands into your sweater pockets in a way to comfort yourself. "Um... I'm a h-hermit, hardly ever leave the house except for supplies and school... I-I wouldn't be the best girl to have on call for a good time..." Was your explanation, automatically backing up a few steps just to create a bit of distance.

"ya wound me sweetheart; i'm crushed, taken a fatal blow. i wouldn't go tryin' ta put the moves on ya before we went on a date first." He winked, showing that his offense wasn't genuine and held out his phone towards you.

When had that gotten into his hand? You sure as hell didn't know.

"I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean for it t-t-to sound like-"

"c'mon, relaaaax... i don't bite." He snickered, his gold tooth glinting a bit in the fluorescent lighting of the store. "...not unless ya want me to." You choked a bit on air at that last part, causing his snickering to grow louder as you tried to hide as much of your red face as possible. "jus' yer digits 'nd your name, s'all i'm askin'. ya don't even have ta answer; in case ya ain't feelin' me, jus' don't text me back." His smirk softened a little, looking closer to a fond smile than anything else as he wagged the phone in front of your nose. "c'mon sweetheart..." He murmured in a quiet (perhaps pleading?) tone.

You stared uncomprehendingly at the electronic he was holding out to you, nibbling on your lower lip hesitantly.

You were so confused. Why was he so insistent? You couldn't sense any mal-intent, but... Where was your Apathy right now? Your comforting shield/blanket against the judging eyes of the public? How had this monster gotten rid of it so effectively?

 _'.....The same thing happened with those kids and other skeletons too, didn't it? That's... Not good. Not normal. Not for me.'_ You thought, staring at the screen in contemplation. _'But Hellene said it'd be a good idea to make friends with them and she's never steered me wrong before... Wait, what if he doesn't know them? Can't assume just cause he's a skeleton too...'_

You supposed that was a good place to start as any...

"...Y-You wouldn't happen to know two other skeletons called Blue and Stretch and four human kids called Chara, Shara, Cara, and Kara... Would you?" You asked in a meek voice, reaching out to take the phone from his outstretched hand but pausing just before touching it as you watched him searchingly.

Red tilted his skull to the side curiously, but didn't seem all that surprised by the question. "yea, I do actually. those kids get into a lotta mischief if left unsupervised, so we take turns keepin' an eye on 'em when their parents are busy, along with some others. they take a liking to ya 'r somethin'?"

"Yoooooou could say that, for lack of a better phrase..." You murmured, taking the phone from his hand now that your question had been confirmed. He had helpfully pulled up a new contact info thing for you all ready for you to fill out. You hesitated only a little bit, since the voices in your head were cheering like mad at the turn of events, and typed in your name... Just your first name. You weren't going to be a bitch and give him a fake one since he seemed to be on the up and up but you weren't also about to affiliate yourself to the 'Ebott Progeny' in his mind if you could help it. Your parents weren't exactly the most... Amenable people towards Monsters and you had no fucking clue how your siblings felt about them. "I, um... I know Frisk. I was a volunteer at the orphanage they lived at before they climbed Ebott." You explained softly, before looking up at him in earnest. "Are they... Okay? Happy? They looked like they are whenever I see them on the news with their parents..."

"so far as they've told me, yea."

"That's wonderful..." You sighed out in relief, a small simple smile taking your lips without even realizing it. You wonder if it would be too much to hope that you could see them again... "They're a good kid... They deserve to be happy."

"uh... y-yea." Red chuckled, seeming a bit dazed for a reason as he stared down at you. "they do. they... all do." You blinked slightly at this, your eye narrowing just a bit as the feeling of recognition just flooded over you once again. He seemed to notice; snapping out of whatever daydream he was having and raising a brow... bone as he grinned down at you. "see somethin' ya like, sweetheart?"

Oh, right. Staring is considered rude, Olivia. Get it together!

"I-I'm sorry, I just..." You immediately averted your gaze, quickly becoming annoyed by the feeling of the stupid blush returning to your cheeks. "I can't... Shake the feeling that we've met before... Somehow?" You shook your head a bit, a little frustrated with yourself as you typed your number into his phone and held it back out to him. "Sorry... I'm not usually this out of it..."

"heh, don't worry about it dollface." The skeleton chuckled, taking it and checking the screen. His grin grew exponentially for some reason when he did. "...olivia, huh? that's yer name?"

"Yeah...?"  _Dollface?_

"it fits ya; pretty, y'know?" He smirked, typing away at his screen for a few seconds. You could see red pads (probably magic) in place of fingertips underneath the tips of his phalange so he could actually work the screen, and for some reason seeing this made you want to snicker uncontrollably. "bet it's fittin' too... means 'peace', doesn't it?"

You paused at that, actually surprised that a monster knew the meaning of your name. Not that you meant that in a prejudiced way, you just knew that Monsters' naming culture was incredibly different from Humans'; at least that's what you've gathered from Monsters you had met so far. Olivia was derived from Olive, which was a symbol of peace for humans. "Y... Yeah, how did you-?"

"heard it somewhere, guess i jus' remembered." He thumbed the screen a little more before glancing over at you intently. Your face was just about to contort in confusion at his look before your phone buzzed in your pocket, causing you to jump a little in surprise. You fished inside your sweater pocket awkwardly as Red chuckled at you, before managing to pull out the gadget and check the notification flashing on the screen.

It was from an unknown number.

 

***why did suzy fall off the swing?**

 

You felt your brows furrow a bit in confusion and glanced back up at the monster before you, who only gave you a mysterious toothy grin in response. Seeing that you weren't going to get any insight on it from him directly, you pulled up the message to text back.

 

**You**

***Dunno. Why?**

 

Your suspicions were confirmed as you heard his cellphone ding with a message a few seconds after you pressed the send button and he began chuckling as he typed out his response. Just what was he doing?

_Ping!_

You glanced back down at your phone.

 

***cause someone cut off her arms.**

 

...

...............

~~ _*...I forgot that his 'humor'... Leaves something to be desired..._~~

**~~_*Wow. Just... Wow._ ~~ **

**_ *....... _ ~~_  
_ ~~ **

~~~~You felt your lips twitch just a little as you stared at the text for a minute or two before slowly scrolling your gaze back up to the monster before you. Your stare was purposefully blank and long, which seemed to unnerve him a bit as his grin was starting to droop just a little as seconds ticked by in awkward silence. But before he could totally doubt himself, you looked back down at your phone and started to type up a response.

 

***Knock knock.**

 

You looked back up at Red after pressing send. He blinked as his phone dinged again and looked down at it. It was then he took his turn to give you a confused look, to which you only raised a brow and gestured back to his phone with a nod.

Slowly, he responded to the text.

 

***who's there?**

 

You struck with the punchline quickly and without mercy.

 

***Not little Suzy.**

 

He stared long and hard at his phone, eyelights blown out wide in shock.

_***......PfffffffFFHAHAHA~!** _

~~_***...And here I thought**_ **my** _ **sense of humor was cringy...** _ ~~

~~_*Nooooooo, not another one... Why me...?_ ~~

_~~***.......Pun intended...?** ~~ _

_~~*SHOOSH YOU.~~ _

_***AHAHAHAHAHA-!!** ~~  
~~ _

Red couldn't help but laugh; a short bark of amusement accompanied by a quick flash of... relief, perhaps? Definitely some surprise there too. It was quickly hidden, however, leaving you to question whether or not you saw it in the first place.

"hehehe... gotta admit dollface, didn't see that comin'."

"I appreciate dark humor." You murmured, labeling the contact with Red's name before putting your phone away back where it belonged. "The world and life in it sucks and if I had to choose between crying or laughing at all the shit goes on, I'd rather laugh at it." You swept some of your hair back out of your face, keeping your defective eye hidden of course. You watched him appraisingly, debating whether to say goodbye or continue the conversation.

Being you in general, you really wanted to gather the strength to walk off, but... You also didn't really want to leave. You... _Liked_ his presence. It was nice... Comforting and welcome, almost. But... Why? You didn't get it...

Out of the fear that your mental deliberation would make the quiet awkward, your mouth moved without permission. 

"Soooo, uh... I'm guessing since you're in this store, you have a pet... Right?"

Red snorted and picked up a bag of dog food nearby. A bag of cat food was also eyed speculatively, but left alone. "heh, not so much a pet as a menace to society, but yep. we call 'im aggressive dog, ad fer short. if ya see 'im, i'd advise against going in fer pets and a belly rub."

"Oh...?" You blinked slowly, your thoughts nearly being drowned out by the more pleasant of the three voices in your head losing her shit. "He's... that bad? Maybe he just needs-"

_**"RED!!!"** _

You nearly jumped a foot in the air at the sound of a very LOUD, grating, and penetrating shout suddenly attacking your eardrums, a wide eye glancing behind Red (who seemed to be groaning in disappointment, by the way) to spot whoever the voice came from. Your now active anxiety wasn't getting any lower as the sight of a very tall, intimidating skeleton dressed in black jeans, a black button up with red striking red designs along the hem and cuffs striding towards the two of you as if he could simply bowl you out of the way if he wanted graced your eye. His sockets were slim and slightly triangular, the left one scarred, with red pinpricks of eyelights glowing angrily within the void of them. Add to that a belt with gold spikes on it, black steel-toed boots, and a fucking _ginormous_  snow-white dog that looked like it could rip you to shreds just sauntering beside him without a leash on, and you had the recipe of one scary motherfucker who was glaring you (really it wasn't you, but you were closer to Red than you had previously thought, so it might as well have been you too) down. If Red looked like a thug, this skeleton looked like a mobster on his day off. And his dog was literally the size of a small horse. You could probably ride him like one.

Yeah, your anxious tendencies were in overdrive now.

_~~*AAAAAAAAAAAPAPYRUSYOU'REHERETOOWHATOMGYOULOOKSOGOODI'VEMISSEDYOUSOMUCHANDYOUHAVEADOHMYGOOOOOD!!!~~ _

~~**_*SECONDHOTSKELETONALERTHOLYSHIT!!_ ** ~~

_***Have we entered Heaven by stepping into this pet store? If so, I never want to leave, I wonder how many more delicious skeletons are in here~!!** _

...And so were the voices.

_All aboard Migraine Central!_

"RED, ARE YOU QUITE DONE SOCIALIZING WITH THAT HUMAN? I HAD SENT YOU TO GET FOOD FOR AD ALMOST TEN MINUTES AGO!" The tall skeleton huffed with clear irritation, briefly looking over your nervous form before dismissing you completely and returning his gaze to Red. You could deal with that; you were absolutely fine with being ignored but the dog beside him indeed seemed as intimidating as he himself was, growling almost constantly with displeasure and staring your way. That wasn't good for your anxiety at all. "HONESTLY, I CAN'T LEAVE YOU UNCHECKED FOR MORE THAN A MINUTE WITHOUT YOU ATTEMPTING TO FLIRT WITH A FEMALE! _HUMAN_ FEMALES AT THAT! AT LEAST TELL ME YOU MANAGED TO FIND THE CORRECT BRAND."

As the tall skeleton continued to berate your conversation partner, you shifted awkwardly in your spot, wondering if it would be rude to just quietly slip away since it was obvious you had been forgotten for the moment. Your nickname in Ebott was Phantom for a reason. As Red began to argue back your gaze scrolled slowly over to the dog, as it had slowly stopped growling and was now giving you a... Suspicious look? Dogs could do that?

"i wasn't tryin' to get inta the girl's pants, boss!" You choked slightly as you tuned into their conversation again, feeling your face flush with heat at that particular tidbit. "we were just havin' a nice conversation! that is until  _you_ showed up with that loud ass voice of yers." You shrunk back just a little bit at the bite in that statement (little though it was) and wished you could melt away as the taller skeleton gasped in an affronted manner and then pointed towards you.

"YOUR TASTE IS UTTERLY APPALLING! HOW ON EARTH COULD YOU BE ATTRACTED TO  _THIS?!_ " You wished you could fizzle away into nothing as they both looked your way, one with a disgusted expression and the other with an annoyed/apologetic one. "SHE'S A HUMAN. AND NOT EVEN A GOOD LOOKING ONE AT THAT; NEVERMIND THAT HUMANS AREN'T EVEN ATTRACTIVE TO BEGIN WITH."

_***How impolite.** _

~~_***Oof. He has immediately become less hot with that mouth of his.** _ ~~

~~ _*Way to drive a dagger through my heart, Papy..._ ~~

Your previously timid expression successfully morphed into a blank one. Sure, you agreed you weren't exactly the prettiest girl in the world especially since you don't exactly care about your appearance (clearly evidenced by the dark circle underneath your eye and obviously well-loved sweatshirt and pants), but there was no need to be rude.

Plus, apparently, he was discriminating against your being a human. Now, you would never say you didn't feel the same way about your fellow race, or that his disgust wasn't justified, but you were also polite enough to never voice it aloud.

Hypocritical? Perhaps.

Did you care? Definitely not.

"she  _is_ hot. and i don't understand why ya gotta kinkshame anyway bro; so what if i like humans? besides, i wasn't even tryin' to woo her anyway!" By the name of Jashin, you didn't have time for this. You were about to get Red's attention so you could leave and you would (probably) text him later, but then their great wolf of a dog's eyes narrowed before he began to lumber forth to approach you. You stiffened, knowing you could be nothing more than a chew toy to this beast if you made one wrong move. The skeletons hadn't seemed to notice the movement since they were way too invested in their argument at this point.

 ~~ _*Don't. Move._~~ Your eye widened as you felt a specific feeling of attention, that one where a person you subconsciously knew was there but weren't paying any real attention to calling out your name, wash over your mind. It was a feeling that made you anxious. Especially if you hardly knew the person at that.

Regardless, you immediately went still.

~~ _*You run, you open yourself up to a chase. Dogs love the chase. Do. Not. Run._ ~~

The canine approached slowly with cautious steps as you watched him while rooted in your spot despite your instincts screaming for you to run. His padded walk came to a stop in front of you, his large nose flaring and sniffing at any part of your clothes within reach.

_'Please don't think I'm a threat, please please please, I have babies to take care of and I can't end up as dog food right now...'_

~~_*Don't make eye contact, dogs see that as a challenge._~~ The voice urgently stated as the large eyes set in the wolf-like face flickered up to look at you, causing you to quickly look back to the skeleton brothers (You didn't want to assume but you could have sworn one of them called the other brother) and deadpan at the fact that they were still arguing. Their voices were starting to raise at this juncture, which caused your eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.

~~_***Seriously? Just... Fucking. Seriously.**  _~~

_'How much more chaos am I going to have to deal with today?'_ You whined mentally, wishing you could just go find Faeles and get all the items you needed so you could cook your Play-Bae her well-deserved meal. _'Is this what that damn Jack of Spades meant by Change? My pseudo-peaceful stasis being ripped away from me? Show some Mercy, God/Kami/Jashin/Pein! It's not like you show me much to begin with, surely you can spare a little?!'_

"oh my fuck boss, fuck off about it, will ya?! i know i definitely shouldn't be callin' anyone rude, but you're being rude as all hell!"

"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE MOUTHING OFF TO ME LIKE THAT!"

~~ _*I wonder how often Aggressive Dog has to listen to this nonsense..._ ~~

**~~_*I bet you this shit is damn near constant wherever they live or go._ ~~ **

**_*I am inclined to agree._ **

_'I pity their roommates if they have any...'_ You hummed in exasperated thought before your eye widened upon feeling something damp press against your left hand, with air quickly blowing in and out past your fingers. Your gaze rolled back down with an extremely guarded look and you felt sweat break out at the nape of your neck when you saw it was in fact AD who had stuck his big wet nose into your palm and was sniffing furiously at you as if he was a K-9 Unit.

~~ _*Stay calm. He's just trying to figure out who you are and decide if you're nice._ ~~

_'I honestly can't name a single instance in my life that would qualify me as a nice person.'_ You thought to yourself as you tried not to quiver. You were sure this beast could smell fear. 

_ ~~***Drama Queen.** ~~ _

~~~~~~~~You watched with bated breath as the terrifying excuse of a canine sniffled at your digits for a little longer (with you hoping he wouldn't try to make them appetizers) before something ultimately surprising happened.

He just... Sat. At your feet. And began to whine.

Not like that normal whining you hear when you hold a treat to far from a dog or when you ignore them for too long.

Nah, these sounds were like what you'd find from those videos on youtube where a dog had been separated from a really good owner for years and when it finally met its owner again after all those years apart, it damn near breaks down  _crying._

It started off soft at first; he began insistently pushing his large head against your hand, rubbing and nuzzling it. You had been around enough animals to know that it was a damn near command for a petting session. The thick white plume of a tail had gone from zero to a hundred miles per hour in mere seconds when you, completely floored and confused by the sudden change in demeanor of the animal, carefully scratched behind a large and pointed ear.

The poor thing  _fell out at your feet._

The horrifying noises that came from him scared the shit out of you. It sounded like he was  _dying._

 _"WHAT IN THE SEVEN LAYERS OF HELL DO YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE DOING TO MY ATTACK DOG?!?!"_  You lurched back in shock at the sound of that super loud voice way closer to you than you had originally known the owner of it had been and consequently lost your balance trying to maintain a good distance.

You were prepared to brace yourself for what you thought was the sure result of landing on your ass, but you were caught in your descent by Red.

Your confused mind was debating how likely it was that Red caught you in a dip on purpose just as he started shouting (again) at his brother.

"edge, what the hell?!" The burly skeleton hissed, shooting an incredulous glare to the other as he knelt by his dog's side to check on him, yet due to his height, was still looming threateningly over the both of you. "stop bein' an ass!"

~~_***Edge, huh? Fitting.** _ ~~

_** *Is it me, or does Monster Name Culture feel rather.... Uninspired? ** _

~~_*M-Maybe, but... Wait a minute. W-What...? Red? Edge? Those aren't their na-_ ~~

"IF YOU REALLY THINK I AM ABOUT TO LET YOUR WEAKNESS FOR HUMAN FEMALES GET IN THE WAY OF RETRIBUTION, YOU'RE MORE IDIOTIC THAN I THOUGHT!" You automatically cowered further into Red's hold (you really had nowhere else to go) as Edge ~~ _('_ _P -Papyrus...')_~~ glared balefully down at you. You gave a barely audible whimper because this sight brought up some very unwelcome memories and the fearful look in your wide eye seemed to piss Red off that much further.

"howzabout ya get yer skull outta yer coccyx and actually listen?! she didn't hurt a hair on the mutt; listen to 'im! he's jus' happy to see 'er!" You blinked a bit, glancing up at Red ~~ _('Sans...')_~~ from your tilted position cautiously and fidgeting a bit.

"U-Um... M-Mr. Red, wha-"

"just red, doll. and s'alright. my bro won't hurt ya," the skeleton monster attempted to assure, glaring a bit at his brother before grumbling underneath his breath, "s'just a bit of a hard ass is all..."

"DON'T YOU GIVE ME SUCH BU-"

 _"stars fuck, edge, just listen to the damn dog!"_ Red ~~ _('S-Sans.')_~~ growled out, in a way that made you shiver and made Edge ~~ _('Papyrus...')_~~ take pause. For some reason, you felt like that was an extremely rare thing for him to do, even for his brother.

Either way, he did as he was told, though not without loud grumbling and a surly glance towards you. You honestly had to hold back the urge of sticking your tongue out at him; as funny and satisfying as it would have been, it definitely would have made things go right back to shit.

Even so, you felt a deep confusion at their phrasing...

"You... Can understand him?" You whispered to the skeleton holding you still, watching as he glanced down at you. You were relieved to see a smirk lighten some of the angry shadows on his face.

"if ya have magic, you can understand the language of animals." He replied, noticing your nervous glances towards his hands and lifting you up out of your position to actually be full on your feet again  ~~ _ **(*Finally!)**_~~. He then shrugged, his hands lingering on you for a little longer before being shoved back into his pockets. A quick peek at them before they disappeared showed they were pretty tightly clenched. "animals are more receptive ta magic than humans... or somethin' like that. dunno the exact reason why. but yeah, we know what he's sayin'."

Your gaze flickered from him to the dog (who was finally starting to calm down; his whining much quieter than before) and then back again. "Soooo, what is he saying...? I get the feeling he doesn't exactly act like this very often..."

"well, uh, you'd be right..." His skull began to bead with red-tinted sweat  _(How?)_ and his eyelights shifted away in a way that automatically made you suspicious. "eheh... he likes ya. alot."

_**~~*No shit, Sherlock.~~ ** _

_ ***You don't say?** _

_ ~~*For good reason!~~ _

Your eye narrowed as you raised a brow, your expression telling of your hesitance to just accept that as an answer. Upon making the mistake of making eye contact with you due to your silence, he cracked.

"he's... callin' ya 'master'."

.

..

...

_What the **fuck?**_

~~ _*He remembered me by scent, ohmigosh!! I'M SO HAPPY~!!!_ ~~

Your expression did not agree with the voice and seemed to give away just how unsettled you were by this information because Red's ~~ _('Sans')_~~ sweating kicked up approximately three notches.

"...I've... N-Never met your dog before, though...?"

"...y-yea, heh..." He lifted a hand out of his pocket and moved to rub the back of his skull; this caused a slight ceramic-scraping noise as his phalange made contact. "...funny, ain't it?"

You simply stared back in response, blank-faced.

...This seemed to be an appropriate time as any to nope the fuck away from this situation.

"Yeeeeeeeah, okay, right, well... I got... _Stuff..._ to accomplish today, and I really should get back to that..." You made a 180, prepared to find your kitten and get the hell out of Dodge. "Excuse me-"

You released what could have only been classified as a squeak as your hood getting caught in a firm grip and pulling you back. Just managing to keep yourself balanced on one leg (score one for ballet proficiency), you were forcibly leaned back far enough to see Edge's ~~ _('Papyrus')_~~ scowling face looming above you, of course looking none too pleased with your attempt to escape.

 _ ***Well, hello there~**_  

~~_***The fuck you want?** _ ~~

"U-Um..." Your fingers slipped from around the basket you were still holding, and you just barely managed to hold back from cringing due to how loud the clattering sound of it hitting the tile floor was in the awkward silence. "Hi...?"

 _"HUMAN."_ Due to your current position, you couldn't exactly disappear into your sweater, but God, did you want to from his tone. "I SHALL GIVE YOU ONE, AND ONLY _ONE_ , CHANCE TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF."

"Uhhhh... E-Explain what, exactly...?" You gently asked, somehow holding back a shudder when his glare darkened.

"HOW  _YOU_ MANAGED TO MAKE CONTACT WITH  _MY_ DOG WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE AND GAIN ENOUGH OF ITS HARD EARNED TRUST FOR IT TO CALL YOU  _MASTER._ MAKE YOUR ANSWER SWIFT. TELL THE TRUTH AND I MAY JUST SPARE YOUR MISERABLE EXISTENCE."

_Welp. Was 'shitting a brick' also an option?_

**_~~*U fockin' wot m8?! I know damn well you didn't just threaten me-- Ay yo bitch, hold my earrings while I curb stomp this mofo!~~ _ **

~~ _*P-Please calm down, he really didn't mean to sound that rude, he's just a bit more... Um... D-Demanding than most people!_ ~~

_***Such vulgarity...** _

~~_***You want some too?! I got enough whoop-ass to go around, try me!!** _ ~~

"bro," Red ~~ _('Sans...')_~~ began to say through his teeth... Oh, well, he had never really opened his mouth since you had first bumped into him so everything he said had literally been said through his teeth, but this time it actually sounded strained, "you know damn well ya can't threaten her like that. 'on the surface', remember? ring 'ny bells, maybe?"

"BE QUIET RED; YOU OBVIOUSLY CAN'T BE TRUSTED IN THIS CONVERSATION, DUE TO BEING _SOMEHOW_ EMOTIONALLY COMPROMISED, SO YOU DON'T GET TO SPEAK."

With a quick glance in his brother's direction, you noticed that his expression was one of ticked resignation. "tch..."

"Ahem... W-Well, ya see, there's a funny story about that particular answer you want..." You managed to chuckle out nervously, gaining the attention of both of them. "And that is... I, eheh... Don't... Actually... _Know?_ "

This answer obviously displeased the skeleton monster, because he promptly yanked at your hood in an attempt to knock you off your balancing leg and leave you sprawled on the ground; however, you gave a firm nope to that physical demand and placed your hands on the ground to bring your lower body up and over your head to complete the partially forced backflip. Bonus: Due to the twist, he had to let go of your sweater or risk snapping an arm bone.

.....Or would his limb come off at the wrist or elbow joint instead? Could he even do that? Would it hurt?

~~ _*Oh?_ ~~

** _*...Um?_ **

~~_***Uh...** _ ~~

Hm.

You had the feeling that if you vocalized those interesting questions at this moment though, your skeletal confronter would become very indignant.

Or, well... _More_ indignant than he was right now. 

Your backflip had essentially placed you behind him by a few paces near Aggressive Dog, putting distance between the two of you much to your relief. Edge ~~ _('Papyrus.')_~~ , however, seemed rather incensed by this move.

Red ~~ _('Sans.')_~~ looked pretty delighted himself.

You were abruptly enlightened as to why a few seconds later once he started to drool a little.

"hehehe..." The eyelights in his sockets grew fuzzy and unfocused as his sharp grin widened to something a little more... lewd as he stared rather intensely at you, "i knew yer skin was th' same color as chocolate, but i didn't think seein' more of it would be so... _sweet~._ "

Your eye widened exponentially before quickly looking down to confirm your suspicions; sure enough, your sweater  _had_ in fact, ridden up a bit on your torso thanks to your little stunt and was currently showing off a little bit of your belly and sides.

You could  _feel_ the steam of embarrassment wafting off your face as you hurriedly pulled the sweater back down to its rightful position.

~~_***....Did this motherfucker just flirt by using a goddamned**  _ **pun?!** ~~

~~ _*Hee hee~. Yeah, he's good for that!_ ~~

** _*Oh my yes, take me now please~._ **

"OH MY STARS S-- RED, HAVE YOU NO _MANNERS!?!?_ " Edge ~~ _('Oh my goodness')_~~ , looking entirely  _done_ with this whole situation, stomped over to his brother and lifted him up in the air. "NOT ONLY DO YOU CONTINUE YOUR FLIRTING IN  _MY PRESENCE,_ BUT YOU ALSO DO SO IN THE FORM OF  _PUNS!!_ HAVE YOU NO STANDARDS AT ALL?!"

Red's ~~ _('Sigh...')_~~ good humor with his brother looked to have returned pretty fast, as he was grinning like the devil and punning as you watched the two of them with a blank yet flushed face.

"nah, bro--they mus' be blue, cause they dropped a _loooong_ time ago."

The taller skeleton screeched rather furiously at this statement (was it a joke? His tone made you think it was, but you didn't get it...), the sound of anger so loud that both you and the dog beside you noticeably cringed at his volume.

Poor thing must be used to that kind of abuse on his ears, but damn...

"Pardon me, but... Is everything okay down here?" You glanced behind you at the sound of another voice, relaxing a little when you realized it belonged to someone familiar (and not in the apparently new way that was prone to giving you headaches). A boy; slim, tall, and with auburn hair and soft green eyes fixed behind a pair of glasses that just added to his gentle guy charm, he was often part of the scene of the pet store due to being an employee. 

You weren't as uncomfortable around him compared to most people, due to his shyer nature and sweet disposition. He also wasn't very chatty, which suited you just fine. You knew him by name at the very least, considering he often helped you out while looking for something in particular to satisfy your babies. His presence (as anxious though it was) in this very weird situation was grounding; it added some normalcy that allowed you to break away from your unsettled mindset.

Something inside your chest eased as you felt the comforting coolness of your Apathy wash over your countenance again. "Oh, hello Ashton."

"Oh! M-Miss Olivia!" His expression of apprehension shifted to one of quick surprise, before settling into a warm smile that made you blink. "Welcome back. I figured you'd be somewhere n-nearby!"

"Oh?" You turned to face him fully, officially curious. The voices had gone radio silent by this point. "Why do you say tha-" Your eyes were drawn downwards from his face upon spotting movement at Ashton's cupped hands and you promptly jumped forward with a squeal upon seeing your kitten being held within his grasp. 

"I had heard her meowing for you before I h-heard the ruckus over here, and recognized her... So I scooped her up before coming to look for you. I-I'm glad you were close by..." The sweet boy mumbled as you gingerly picked up your darling kitten and nuzzled your face against hers before placing her on your shoulder gently. She purred in content, but due to how her front paws were gripping at your sweater, you knew she wasn't exactly happy with you for wandering out of her sight. 

"I'm so sorry, Faeles, lovely... Forgive mama, please..." You cooed to her before sparing Ashton a quick glance. "Thank you for bringing her to me. I was kinda... um..." You peeked behind you for a quick moment, realizing the monsters were still there and definitely staring at the two of you now. "...Distracted."

"No need t-to apologize Miss Olivia... I was, um, very happy to help." The sweetheart stuttered in return, a blush spreading slowly on his cheeks and a small smile being pointed back at you.

_~~***......Oh my god, he's a pure bean. Much sof, Very sweet, Must protecc.** ~~ _

_** *He's cute too~. ** _

_~~*U-Um... He looks really nice and all, but... Edge... Doesn't really like being ignored...~~ _

And lo and behold, speak of the devil, whatever phrase you wanted to use--Edge erupted. " _HUMAN._ I DO NOT TAKE KINDLY TO BEING _IGNORED._ "

~~_***This bitch wants to throw down, doesn't he? I'm ready to fuckin' throw hands with this assweed, just watch me.** _ ~~

_~~*It's just... how he acts, you get used to it-~~ _

**_ *Eh. _ **

"Yeah, well, I don't take kindly to being threatened over something I didn't do." You replied coolly, not even giving him as much as a cursory glance. "Guess we're both not getting what we want, eh?" You slid smoothly forward in time to avoid another swipe at your hood, snatching up your basket and tossing the unwanted disturber an unamused look before turning your attention back to Ashton.

If Death Incarnate wanted your attention, he could wait in line behind much more _polite_ company.

~~_***HELLO? POLICE? I JUST WITNESSED A FUCKING MURDER.**_~~

**_*You're easily impressed, aren't you? _ **

~~**_*Oh, so you wanna fuckin' go?_ ** ~~

_***Away? Certainly. ** _

Your attention was drawn away from the argument in your head by Ashton, who eyed the two monsters with a mix of nerves and curiosity. "You're not, uh, having any t-trouble, are you?"

Oh. You supposed that Edge trying to grab your hood might be cause for alarm. As well as the screaming.

_~~*That's just an Edge thing, not a threat thing...~~ _

"THIS DOESN'T CONCERN YOU," Edge snapped back before you could say anything.

_~~***SOMEONE FUCKING HOLD ME BACK I AM GOING TO FIGHT THIS WHINY B I T C H.** ~~ _

_***By the name of Gaia, please calm down...** _

You drew closer to the anxious boy in response to the pure rudeness the monster was displaying, even going so far to place a hand on Ashton's shoulder in what you hoped with a calming manner. Flashing the peeved skeleton an unconcerned glance, you shook your head at the employee. "Not at all Ashton. This is just a misunderstanding, so no need to fret." You shrugged and gave him a half-smile that you hoped was at least partially as reassuring as you meant for it to be. "We're all _mature_ adults after all, so it's not like we can't solve said misunderstanding _civilly._ "

**_*Finally. Someone with some sense.  _ **

_* ~~....He can be civil...~~_

~~_***HA HA, SHOTS FIRED, WHATCHU GON DO 'BOUT IT TALL, SLIM, AND SUSPICIOUS?!**_ ~~

You heard a sound that was suspiciously similar to that of teeth being ground together behind you at that, along with the sound of soft snickering. "O-Oh..... O-Okay then..." The younger male muttered quietly, cringing slightly away from you. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the very edgy skeleton was probably giving the back of your head the deadliest of glares.

At this point though, you refused to show that you cared.

"What canned food did you find Faeles by?" You asked nonchalantly as if someone resembling the Grim Reaper wasn't hovering threateningly over your shoulder. Ashton blushed, giving you a slightly awed look.

"U-Um.... B-By the F-F-Friskies...?" 

"Perfect," You smiled wanly and began to walk towards the aisle, snagging him lightly by the sleeve and urging him to walk with you, "Show me which flavor, won't you?" 

"O-Okay!"

~~_***OH MY FUCK SHE JUST WALKED AWAY FROM THE MOFO SWEET JESUS SOMEONE GET HIM SOME ICE HE JUST GOT BURNED.**_ ~~

"WH- _HUMAN, GET BACK HERE!_ " 

"Nice weather we're having," you said, smiling at Ashton pleasantly. "Shame that the wind is rather...  _loud."_

_"COME THE FUCK BACK HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE."_

Naturally, you didn't.

But it was a nice thought.

Ashton gave you a look that was a mixture of awed and mildly terrified. It was kind of gratifying.

You reached up to give the sweet boi a calming pat on the head as the two of you turned the corner to the next aisle (which brought on a blush). Faeles calmly nested herself in your hood, not at all concerned by the increasingly angered skeleton taking it upon himself to follow the two of you and continue with his ranting. However, you could hear the sound of someone trying to smother their laughter at a safe distance behind all of you; Red, most likely.

Smart move on his part-- As angry as Raging Bones was at the moment, you were sure his wrath was not at all discriminatory.

**_*This has turned into quite the shitshow already. _ **

_~~*Agreed... Papyrus really should take some anger management classes... Or have~~_ ~~something~~ ~~_to relieve stress._ ~~

~~_***She's better than I am, that's for sure-- I would have drop kicked him into next year for yelling at me five minutes ago.** _ ~~

"So," You continued with your idle chatter, as Ashton pointed to the flavor of canned food that he had found Faeles near, "You seemed to be in a good mood a few minutes ago. It's not often you smile- May I ask the occasion?"

"Oh, u-um... Yeah, I... G-Got accepted into Ebott U-Uni and... got my classes settled..."

"I see. That's great, I'm impressed. It's rather difficult to get into Ebott Uni..." You hummed thoughtfully, picking up several cans to place into your basket. "I go there too. What classes did you choose?"

"....T-Theatre and art... Oh, and there is t-this new class that is just being offered... A-Animology...?"

"How Serendipitous. I take those classes very often; in fact, I'm in some this year. I'm also taking Animology as well."

_"R-R-Really?!"_

"Mm." You nodded once, vaguely feeling annoyance as the Pale Death behind you continued his diatribe. It was starting to get harder to ignore him simply from the fact that your irritation was building the longer he insisted on this nonsense. "What professors do you have for your Theatre and Art classes?"

"I-I can't really r-remember, u-uh... The theatre professor's last name started with a W... A-And two art teachers are sharing a class... Freehand Art and Painting? They're married? I-I think?"

"Ah. Yes, I know who you're talking about." You gestured for him to follow you as you began walking toward the back of the store, where you knew the refrigerated and bug aisles would be. It was time to get your spookier babies their upcoming meals. Any other regulars walking around turned at the sound of your voice in order to greet you, but upon spotting the two threatening skeletons and their gigantic pooch strutting quickly behind you, quickly scurried off in another direction. "I suppose we'll being seeing a bit more of each other-- Seeing as we'll be classmates for all three of your classes."

The excited smile the young man shot you could rival the lights of New York during New Year's. "T-That's great!! We can, u-um... H-Help each other study and... all that!" You gave a small snort before nodding, not going to burst the sweetheart's bubble and tell him that you pretty much knew every subject in those classes like the back of your hand due to taking them multiple times. He took the lead now, chatting excitedly as he speed-walked with purpose towards your destination. He had served you enough to know exactly what you were looking for.

It was an accomplishment that you were able to get Ashton to forget about Edgy My McChemical Romance stalking angrily after the both of you and getting progressively more incensed by your insistence to ignore him, evidenced by his volume building along with his temper.

The bad thing was that your aggravation was slowly climbing as well since all his yelling was exacerbating your headache.

~~_ *Oh dear... Please let this end peacefully... _ ~~

**~~_*Hehe, she's buildin' steam like a tea kettle~_ ~~ **

**_*Sigh..._ **

"WOMAN, NO ONE TREATS ME IN SUCH A MANNER AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

_***3...** _

"YOU SHOULD BE  _HONORED_ THAT I EVEN GRACED YOU WITH MY PRESENCE TODAY!!"

_***2...** _

"YOU ARE GOING TO TURN AROUND, FACE ME PROPERLY, AND TAKE YOUR JUST PUNISHMENT AT MY HANDS-- ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!?!" 

_***1.** _

~~ _*Oh no-_ ~~

"DAMNIT...  _HEY-!_ "

You whirled around to face him suddenly, your cold blue eye blazing with icy sharp flames of irascibility and your teeth clenched so tightly together that you hissed out your next words. _"Will you shut your TRAP already?!?!"_

It seemed like everything in the vicinity froze at your words; noise, Ashton, the Monsters, their dog, and even the very air around all of you. The skeleton had screeched to a dead halt (uh, no pun intended) upon your abrupt and rather cross acknowledgment of him and seemed to be taken by surprise; he was now slack-jawed. It was almost as if he had forgotten most people had limits to being yelled at for no reason.

Red came to a complete stop as well along with their beast of a dog, red eyelights shrinking to pinpricks in pure bewilderment. You could see apprehension settling deep into the sharp lines of his zygomatic bones as his gaze ping-ponged back and forth between you and his brother. His sweaty expression suggested that he was suddenly fearful for your physical health.

There was a deep and tense silence for several seconds as everyone stared at you in astonishment.

" _...WHAT_ ," The taller monster began to rumble out, his sharp sockets narrowing and fury lining his words as he brought himself up to his full height to properly loom over you, "...WAS  _THAT?_ "

You refused to cower or back down now. You were  _done._

**~~_*Yaaaaaas, we already take crap from our parents on a constant basis, screw him--TELL HIM OFF GURL!_ ~~ **

"I said,  _Shut. Up._ " You ground out, standing up straight as well, glaring right back at him with no compromise in your stance. "Do you understand just how fuckin'  _rude_ you're being? How many people in this store that are sensitive to loud noises and have anxiety that you could be aggravating? Also-"

"HOW BOLD OF YOU TO ASSUME THAT I ACTUALLY GIVE A FU-"

 _"DON'T FUCKING CUT ME OFF!!"_ You actually raised your voice into a shout, raising a hand to jab a finger harshly against his chest in your anger. This action appeared to shock him further if the widening of his sockets was anything to go by. You supposed you would be rather shocked as well if someone who just barely reached your shoulders was giving you an aggressive glower. "Not ONLY are you probably giving anyone with anxiety problems a panic attack with your  _squawking_ , but you're also disturbing any nervous pets and animals with a history of abuse and neglect in this store--Have you no shame?!?! I was _ignoring you_ because you were talking down to me as if I was something lower than dirt,  _instead_ of engaging me like a mature adult. Had you done so, I would have been happy to engage in a conversation on why your dog seems to like me," You threw out your hand towards the aforementioned canine, who's wide red eyes blinked at being addressed, "which I still  _don't know by the way,_ but since you insist on being so damn insulting, I'll have to take the initiative instead to show some logic!!!" Your outstretched hand shifted to point at AD, your eye narrowing into a slit. " _Now,_ just how often is your dog around you?"

Edge was silent for a moment, taken aback by your temper and obvious refusal to back down. ".....QUITE A LOT. BUT-!"

"And when he's  _not_ around you, where is he?"

"AT HOME, IN MY BACKYARD, BUT-"

"And your house is, where? In the Monster Gated Community, right? Holly Springs? A place where humans aren't exactly invited inside, if at all?" You crossed your arms stiffly, starting to tap out an irritated beat with a foot as the more liberal of the voices in your head continue to cheer loudly. As the skeleton nodded slowly, you lifted your chin defiantly, not taking your gaze away from him for one second. "So then explain to me how, in the name of Quetzalcoatl, you think it's even a  _bit_ plausible that a human, such as myself who hardly has energy to even get out of bed most days, has even the purely ludicrous _want_ to one: manage to get past whatever fortifications there are for your community, two: find out which house is yours, three: trespass into your backyard without getting ripped to shreds by what is clearly a guard dog with intentions to only befriend said dog and do it enough times to accomplish said goal, and four: do it all without alerting you, your brother, anyone else you may be living with, any of your neighbors, any guards, OR any monster that lives in the damn  _community???_ "

........

.......................

~~ _*...She really does have a point..._ ~~

** _*The awkward silence is real though..._ **

Edge was absolutely still in the deep silence, staring down at you blankly as if struck dumb; whether it was by the fact that someone had hollered at him or the logic of your words had finally dawned on his mind and he just had no idea how to react, you had no clue.

You hoped he wasn't as dense as he had currently been acting and it was the latter reason.

"So? Whatcha think? Doesn't seem remotely possible in the slightest, _does it?_ " You were panting now, your lungs aching due to them not being used to you shouting to get your point across, but you didn't care. It had been so long since you had felt so angry that you were on a roll with your ranting. It was like something inside you had just been rubbed the wrong way by all this nonsense. You could feel Ashton's utter astoundment behind you; he had never heard you even get irritated before, let alone  _yell._ "Absolutely  _amazing_ what listening to logic can accomplish, huh?! Now, if we're finally fucking _done_ with this ridiculous argument-"

Your head whipped around to face the redhead, who flinched upon seeing your attention now firmly on him. "I'd be positively delighted if I could get the superworms I need for Vide... _Please._ " You hissed out, reminding yourself that he was not the reason you were angry and you shouldn't take it out on him.

Nonetheless, the poor thing seemed scared; He nodded rapidly in understanding before rushing to where the said bugs were being held in glass containers. Great job Olivia. Fucking fantastic. You got anxious yourself whenever people were yelling; you should've known better!

You clutched at your chest (which felt awfully tight, probably due to all of the stress of today), breath hissing from between your clenched teeth as you tried to deal with your constricting breath. "Fuck... I just  _had_ to go into public this day of all days and get fucking harassed." You heard Faeles mewling softly in your hood, moving around to climb out of it and back onto your shoulder. You jolted slightly upon feeling her cold wet nose press against your cheek but relaxed at the sound and feel of her purring against your neck.

A frown marred your face upon feeling her little body tremble a bit.

"Shit... M'sorry Fae-Fae, I didn't mean to scare you..." Attempting to push away your anger by comforting your kitten was a bit difficult (mostly because with your brain playing emotion roulette today, you were exceedingly out of your comfort zone), but it was doable; as you were nuzzling her affectionately and trying to take deep breaths, the young tawny-haired boy approached you again holding a plastic container with three plump superworms chewing away at some greens and a nervous expression upon his face as he watched you carefully.

_Well, hello again Guilt, who said you were welcome here? It sure wasn't me-_

"H-Here's Vide's meal, M-M-Miss Olivia..."

With a deep inhale you reached out to gently take the container from him, careful to not make any sudden movements. "...Thank you. I appreciate it." You placed Faeles on the top of your head and put the container into your handheld basket. "My apologies for my volume... And my language." You muttered shamefully, keeping your gaze low. "I shouldn't have let my temper get away from me and such behavior was contemptible."

_~~***Oh my Zeus, the fancy language makes me cringe-** ~~ _

_***Well I, for one, respect the fact that she's being responsible and apologizing.** _

The tall red-headed bean blinked owlishly behind his glasses for a few seconds, utterly floored that you seemed to deign it necessary to give him an apology before quickly stuttering out a reply. "N-N-No, please, Miss O-Olivia, t-there's no need to apologize! I-I understand it's n-n-not me you're upset w-with... I'm not a-angry with you in the s-slightest!"

**_*Oh goodness, he's such a sweet boy... _ **

~~_***We're going to protect him, right? Please tell me for the mother of all things sinful we are.** _ ~~

"Still, I should have been more conscientious of your anxiety and dislike of loud noises, seeing as I have the same problem." You muttered with some shame, your single good eye looking over him apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"I-It's okay! That's w-what anxiety medication is for, r-right?" The young man gave you a small shy smile and went to reach out and touch your shoulder, before seeming to think it over and lowering his arm awkwardly. You were grateful for that.

"I wish there would have been no need for such though..." You hummed, relaxing a little upon realizing he wasn't going to hold your outburst against you. You were just an emotional wreck today... "Hell, I'll probably have to take some of my own now that I think about it..." You felt Faeles nesting in your hair as you reached into your sweater pocket, intent on digging out the bottle that held said medicine. Your heart nearly stopped when your fingers felt nothing but your wallet and phone.

Before you could properly freak out though, the deep growl of Red's bass came in unison with a bony hand waving the treasured bottle of medication in your line of vision. "yer talkin' 'bout this, m'guessin?" You released a sigh of relief as you reached up to take the medicine from his grasp and turned to face the large skeleton's sharp grin, not noticing how Ashton shifted to essentially hide behind you as you did.

"Let me guess. I dropped it during my earlier flip stunt?"

"you'd be right, dollface." Thankfully, Red didn't seem that all angered about you cursing his brother out, if the utterly delighted look on his face was any indication. AD had joined his side also, sauntering up to you and gently pressing his big nose against your belly with an expectant snuffle. "i grabbed it for ya, waitin' for boss to be done with his rant to give it back..." His grin shifted into a smirk as he gave you an impressed once over. "but i guess y'solved that pretty well, eh... kitten?"

 _"Don't call me that."_ You murmured a bit waspishly as you turned your attention towards Edge, not noticing how Red's eyelights brightened with glee at your reply. You began to pet AD almost absentmindedly (who was adoring the attention), as you frowned at how Edge was simply staring at you, looking like he was lost in a memory... A fond one at that. You tossed Red a slightly concerned glance. "Is... He gonna be okay?"

Red snorted almost uncaringly, amusement plain on his features as he looked over at his brother. "heh, he'll be just fine doll... he just ain't used to being stood up to for his bullshit. ya surprised him." He rolled his shoulders a bit with a sigh before making his way back to his brother, and raising a hand close to the taller skeleton's face to snap his fingers impatiently. "boss. stop fantasizing n' wake th' fuck up."

Edge responded immediately despite his preoccupation and turned to red, scowl planted firmly in his face, "S- AH, RED, QUIT YOUR INCESSANT SNAPPING; I AM NO CANINE!" He looked dazedly around the aisle as if his screeching at Sans were something he could do in his sleep and he was just coming to from a daydream. Then his gaze landed on you. "AND YOU, HUMAN..." Your eye narrowed warningly at him, prepared to give him another cursing out if he didn't fix his tone quickly, but quickly grew confused as he glanced away from you as a red flare of magic flushed over his maxilla.  
  
He began to act somewhat... bashful. Well, as bashful as you could be with a grimace that could chase off a club bouncer. He growled under his breath and turned away from you as he crossed his arms, glaring at the various insects in the glass containers milling about as if they had done hima genuine disservice. Even so, he lowered his volume immediately. "I'll Have You Know That That You Are Very Brave For Standing Up To Me!" Despite his words sounding like he meant them as a threat, his body language spoke otherwise.

You blinked a few times, your thought process doing a quick stall as you stared at him for a moment or two before you could feel your body relax beyond your control as if it somehow knew he was no longer a threat of any sort.

Why this was, you weren't exactly sure.

_ ~~*...This reminds me of that one time I yelled at him for ripping my color guard flag. He didn't apologize then either, but he was much nicer to me afterward...~~ _

"Well, you were astonishingly rude." You insisted, crossing your arms as you gave him a light glare. Red rolled his eyelights in exasperation at his brother, knowing he wouldn't have just apologized and been done with it. "If you had thought about it logically, none of this nonsense would have happened in the first place." AD whined at the loss of your petting, butting his large head gently against your side. "......But I do apologize for yelling; I let my temper get away from me and it would have been better to solve the argument amicably rather than just returning the anger." You sniffed with distaste at being the first to apologize (which the more energetic of the three voices in your head shared) before sighing as you began to unscrew the cap of your medicine bottle. "No hard feelings... For me, at least."

"YES, A-Ah, Mm, Well... I See You Have Good Sense—”

Red swiftly cut off what was sure to be a rather insensitive reply with a harsh elbow into his brother's ribs, drawing a choked yelp from him and gaining a furious glare. The stockier skeleton simply glared back, lifting a hand to sign something.

You realized he probably meant to say whatever he wanted without you and Ashton knowing what he was going to say, but due to learning ASL back when you still volunteered at the orphanage (mostly because of Frisk), you knew exactly what he was trying to say.

All you would say was... That was some juicy blackmail Red had on his brother. And one that was rather useful, considering just how still Edge turned and how wide his sockets got in an instant.

~~ _*I'm... Trying so hard not to laugh~..._ ~~

"I-I Mean..." It seemed as if merely speaking the words took him every bit of strength he had to keep from choking on them, and you rose a brow as you watched him struggle. Eventually he managed it, but spat out each word as if they were poisonous. "I. Apologize. Too." Your other brow joined its twin in your bangs as he turned away from all of you with a loud scoff, as you were surprised he actually said them. Red looked surprised as well, but very satisfied. "Don't Expect To Hear Such Weak Words From Me Often Though, Human! You Should Be Honored To Even Hear Them Pass My Mandible!"

It was at that very moment that it hit you.

_'.....Oh my god, he's a Tsundere.'_

~~_*Yes, you get it, thank you!! He's just had a hard life, that's all!_ ~~

** _*Mm. Understandable, I suppose. Tsunderes do seem like degenerates at first glance sometimes...._ **

**~~_*...The fuck you lookin' at me for?_ ~~ **

Despite how ingenuine the apology felt, you decided to cut your losses and just accept it either way. You had a feeling apologies were extremely rare to get from the monster in front of you.

....You kinda had a soft spot for tsunderes too. Hellene was rather brash as well when you first met her, and the reminder of it kinda softened your attitude.

"I see..." You watched as he glanced discreetly your way as you popped two of your pills into your mouth and swallowed them dry, praying that they would kick in quickly before looking back towards the two monsters. "You're forgiven, then." You hummed back, feeling your face defrost of its coldness rather easily (and dare you say happily) at his words.

His skull grew a suspicious blood-orange color, and he sputtered a bit. You cocked your head to the side in confusion, and he whipped his skull around so he was no longer looking at you, muttering in a fussy manner under his breath. Red snickered a little as you continued to pat AD's head, amused at his wagging tail.

 ~~ _*Papyrus is making a tactical retreat._~~ The sweeter of the three voices giggled in a giddy manner as Edge suddenly growled loudly and started to stomp off towards the entrance of the store, all the while you watched in confused bemusement.

"Humans," he mumbled loudly before snapping at AD. "Are You Coming?!?" The canine gave a soft huff of what looked to be annoyance, rolling his big red eyes while nuzzling his head against your hand and giving it an affectionate lick before moving to trot almost regally after the taller skeleton. A sound of curiosity came from you as Red chuckled deeply, staring after his brother before glancing towards you as you slipped your medicine bottle back into your pocket.

"that smile o' yours s'dangerous, sweetheart." You gave the burly skeleton a confused look.

"Smile...?" You reached up to gently press a finger to your lips, blinking in slight shock as you realized you had smiled (small though it was) without even knowing it. You dropped it quickly, your brow furrowing in concern at just how emotional you were being today. "Huh... I hadn't even noticed I had done so."

A considering expression took his zygomatic bones as his eyelights flickered over your face for a moment before he shrugged, turning away to walk after his brother. "knowin' my bro, he probably just stormed outta 'ere without buyin' anythin' for the mutt, so i should probably get ta steppin'." He began sauntering away with a confidence to his swagger, glancing back at you with his sharp teeth twisted up into a large smirk. "ya got my number though, so don't be a stranger sweetness." He winked as he tossed you a lazy wave before ambling off towards the registers.

................

_...Well that was abrupt from start to finish, wasn't it?_

~~ _*Sigh... I miss them already..._ ~~

**~~_*So that's who you call Papyrus and Sans, huh? Sorry to say that they act nothing like the Sans and Papyrus I know and love._ ~~ **

~~_*But it's who they are! Really!_ ~~

**~~_*Then why do they call themselves Red and Edge?_ ~~ **

~~_*W-Well, I don't know, b-but they must have a reason... Why do your Sans and Paps call themselves Blue and Stretch?_ ~~

**~~_*....Mm, touché. I have no clue._ ~~ **

** _*Hm... If this trend is to continue, then perhaps the Sans and Papyrus I am familiar with call themselves by different names as well. If they are even around..._ **

"S-So, um..." You snapped back into reality at the sound of Ashton piping up behind you, chuckling a bit nervously. "That was... I-Interesting."

"...That's definitely one word for it, isn't it?" You agreed softly, glancing back to make eye contact with the spectacled young man. "Well, I don't know about you, but I've had more than enough excitement for one day... I'm ready to go home."

_~~***Lightweight.** ~~ _

_***Oh, don't be so mean.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: In case you were wondering who is who, Edge is the designated Knight of Swords while Red is the Three of Swords. They are a part of the Minor Arcana. The meaning of those particular cards? Well, you'll have to wait for an explanation later on... Unless you want to research them for yourself. ;)


End file.
